Shanghai (ZXZC)- SAIC Motor PV and Aulton, a Shanghai-based EV transport solution provider, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on March 11 to carry out strategic collaboration on operation of battery swapping services.

Roewe Ei5 fast-battery-swap version; photo credit: Aulton

At the signing ceremony, both parties celebrated the launch of the battery swappable Roewe Ei5. According to a local report, the new version of the Roewe Ei5 is equipped with a 52.5kWh battery pack, which can be charged to 80% of its capacity in 30 minutes using quick-charging mode, and can also be swapped in only 20 seconds at Aulton's battery swapping stations.

At the same time, 100 Roewe Ei5s supporting fast battery swap were handed over to Dazhong Transportation and Shanghai Jiangnan Tourism Service Co., Ltd for taxi and ride-hailing services.

Yang Guoping, chairman of Dazhong Transportation said the battery swapping model is recognized by taxi companies and drivers thanks to its ability to increase vehicle transport capacity and save time for energy supply. The cumulative number of battery-swap taxis is expected to exceed 3,000 units in Shanghai by the end of 2021.

According to a staff member at Aulton, the company's latest-generation battery-swap stations enable multiple models under different brands to switch their batteries in 20 seconds, with an entire battery-swap service completed in only 1 minute. The stations have so far been put into operation in 20 cities across China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou and Kunming.

This year, Aulton plans to establish 40 new battery swapping stations in Shanghai, with the total number reaching 50, said Yang Ye, senior vice president of Aulton.