Battery swap triggers debate

　　"Battery swap can be used in public electric bus and taxi, but it does't suit private EV owners," Wang Binggang, head of the expert team that supervises and provides consultation to the 863 program's Energy Saving and New Energy Vehicle project, told reporters on May 23. Wang's statement is called a imaginary assumption by Liu Xinfang, spokesperson for State Grid. Liu said because the electricity consumed by electric car is a commodity that has no usage differentiation, "we should measure the mileage purchased by consumers with a unified standard, so that car owners will enjoy the same kind of battery quality". This was the reason State Grid Corporation has given for advocating the battery swap mode.

　　By the beginning or May, State Grid has reached initial consensus with major demotic car makers including Beijing Automobile, Dongfeng and FAW in terms of promoting the battery swap mode, taking the initiative while the announcement of the Energy Saving and New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan was being delayed and again.

　　Battery swap might not suit private EV market.

　　On January 7, Liu Zhenya, General Manager of State Grid announced during the company's 2011 planning meeting, State Grid has set the basic business mode for EV: battery swap as the main channel, and plug-in charging as supplement. Battery packs that were fully charged in one spot will be dispatched to end users. "By the end of this year, we are going to build 145 charging stations that focus on battery swap," said Liu, "State Grid is going to charge batteries in this stations and consumers don't have to worry about the cost of purchasing and maintaining batteries."

　　Reducing car buyers' initial purchase cost, so that car owners don't have to shoulder the cost of battery depreciation. To several senior experts in the new energy field, this reasoning used by State Grid seemed hard to stand.

　　According to Wang, battery swap only works public transportation and taxi, but not private EV market, "I don't believe private car owners are willing to leave a big whole in their private car and accept battery swap."He also said car is a very personalized product, not just a transportation tool. "Nobody will like the car that has no personality. Besides, battery swap is not cheap." Zhang Shulin, chief consultant for China Automobile Technology Research Center, also said slow charging mode should be the major operation mode and battery swap should be used as a supplement. "Only this stable mode can meets the needs of private car owners and expand consumer base," said Zhang. (Translator: Anna)

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