Shanghai (ZXZC)- China's Chongqing city aims to build over 200 battery swapping stations and deploy more than 10,000 battery-swappable new energy vehicles (NEVs) by 2023, according to a document issued by the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology on May 10.

Per the document, local authorities will launch pilot operation of battery swapping stations in several districts first, including Liangjiang New Area, Jiangbei District, Nan'an District, Western (Chongqing) Science City, Qijiang District, Yongchuan District, Wanzhou District, Qianjiang District, and Changshou District, prior to a widespread promotion across the whole city.

Geely Technology Group's battery swap station; photo credit: Geely Technology Group

Regarding the construction of battery swapping infrastructures, local government will support the operators of battery swapping service and gas stations in jointly building integrated energy stations featuring both battery swap and oil & gas refueling capabilities. Besides, it will also work on providing battery swapping facilities at expressway service plazas with the access to the power grid. The authority will grant subsidies to relevant constructors.

With central urban areas as core regions, the government will encourage eligible districts and counties to vigorously explore the applications of battery swapping models in various scenarios like taxi, ride-hailing service, heavy-duty truck, logistics vehicle, government car, and private car. 

According to data from China's Ministry of Public Security, the automobile parc of Chongqing city had exceed 5 million units by the end of March 2022.