This report provides Transforma Insights’ view on the use of IoT in the Automotive Batteries market. This Application Group covers vendor tracking of swappable batteries used by electric vehicles.
The growing number of electric vehicles will increase the need for vehicle charging facilities. Currently, there are a limited number of charging stations, some of which can take up to half a day to completely charge a vehicle. Battery swapping is an alternative to recharging a vehicle’s battery in situ. Swapping a depleted battery for a fully charged one currently takes about 5 minutes and has a similar subscription cost to EV charging.
China has been one of the early adopters of battery swapping with leading vendors such as Gogoro and Nio now expanding their geographic presence across other large markets such as Europe and the US. The rest of the market has been dominated by small and medium-sized companies manufacturing swappable batteries for two and three-wheelers that are popular in Southeast Asian countries. Most of these vehicles tend to be used for commercial activities such as food and package delivery.
One of the main obstacles to widespread adoption is whether automakers will collaborate to develop standardised batteries that can be used across multiple brands. The likes of Mercedes, BMW, and Volkswagen fear that standardising batteries could reduce their competitive edge by turning them into a commodity, undermining the performance of their vehicles. This hesitancy, combined with the substantial investment required to redesign vehicles for swappable batteries, and the long development cycles in the automotive industry, has slowed widespread adoption of these batteries, especially in the developed markets.
The report provides a detailed definition of the sector, analysis of market development and profiles of the key vendors in the space. It also provides a summary of the current status of adoption and Transforma Insights’ ten-year forecasts for the market. The forecasts include analysis of the number of IoT connections by geography, the technologies used (including splits by 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, LPWA, short range, satellite and others), as well as the revenue split between module, value-added connectivity and services. A full set of forecast data, including country-level forecasts, sector break-downs and public/private network splits, is available through the IoT Forecast tool.
This section begins with a description of the increasing adoption of electric vehicles, primarily due to reduced emissions and costs. For instance, the number of electric cars sold increased by 3.5 million in 2023, when compared to 2022. The report then examines the key factors that are influencing the development of the market, including:
This section of the report begins by explaining how charging electric vehicles is a slow and time-consuming process, when compared to battery swapping. In a tabular format, it then provides a comparative study of the advantages and disadvantages of Public EV Charging and Battery Swapping. It then discusses how battery swapping technology can address many of the concerns of EV charging, like addressing many of the EV charging-related concerns and tackling the shortage of EV chargers.
This section of the report explains how connectivity helps bridge the gap between battery providers and consumers. For instance, it allows vehicle owners to track where the battery is, how efficiently it is being used, and whether it is damaged or in need of replacement.
This section of the report first discusses a few companies which introduced battery swapping and how have they fared in this space. For example, Tesla launched a battery swap suitable for its Model S in 2013. The swap costed between USD60-80 per swap; however, in 2015 Tesla abandoned the service due to lack of consumer interest.
It then explains how Chinese and Taiwanese OEMs have launched innovative battery-swapping programs that lead the market (through gradual expansion to the global market as well). To cite an instance, in 2022, Nio opened its first battery-swapping station in Oslo, Norway, capable of handling up to 240 swaps per day. It also notices that in recent years, many established OEMs have introduced several small-scale pilot schemes.
In a tabular format, the section then talks about some of the key battery swapping vendors with the number of swapping stations and their geographic presence. Case in point, Germany-based Swobbee operates 100 swapping stations in Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Portugal, and the US.
This section of the report first focuses on the fragmentation of the market of swappable batteries, which has led to their inconsistent adoption. It also discusses how the uncertainty over battery ownership and maintenance responsibilities impact their adoption.
It also talks about the general hazards of battery swapping, like mechanical wear on battery connectors, and general concerns about batteries’ lifespan, performance, and range (which are exacerbated by past failures). For instance, one of Zotye’s vehicles caught fire due to repeated battery swaps, leading to the discontinuation of its swapping program and reinforcing the importance of reliability in such systems. It then provides a few examples of relevant IoT deployments in this application, including VoltUp collaborating with BSNL to deploy four battery swapping stations in India.
The key vendors section lists some of the main providers of products and services related to the market such as Honda, Gogoro, Nio, Aulton New Energy Automotive Technology, Swobee, Oyika, and Sun Mobility. The report provides profiles of the various vendors including aspects most relevant to this Application Group, such as product offerings, pricing, financial results, and technology.
In the market forecasts section, we provide a summary of the forecasts from the Transforma Insights IoT Forecast Database:
The report charts the growth in the number of connected devices, which will grow from 3.2 million in 2024 to 149.8 million by 2034.
Transforma Insights forecasts are compiled on a country-by-country basis. This report includes a regional summary, showing splits between Australasia, Greater China, North America, Europe, Japan, Latin America, MENA, Russia & Central Asia, South East Asia, South Korea, India & South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Transforma Insights’ IoT forecasts include splits between the various connectivity technologies as follows: 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G mMTC, 5G non-mMTC, LPWA (non-mMTC), Satellite, Short Range, and Other.
This section discusses which technologies will be used in the Automotive Batteries application group.
This part of the report discusses the market growth in terms of revenue (module revenue, service wrap revenue, and VAC revenue). Transforma Insights estimates that the revenue in the Automotive Batteries Application Group will grow at a CAGR of 47%.
