Battery swapping technology for heavy-duty vehicles: a Indian premiere by SUN Mobility and Veera Vahana

SUN Mobility and Veera Vahana showcased India’s first modular battery swapping technology for Heavy Commercial Vehicles at Prawaas 4.0 held in late August in Bangalore.

Now SUN Mobility has tied relations with bus manufacturer Veera Vahana, based in Bangalore, in order to launch what is claimed being India’s first 10.5 meters battery swappable buses for intercity and mofussil (i.e. regional, suburban) routes. Same technology will work with all the vehicles of Veera Vahana, the companies state.

At the same expo Prawaas 4.0 2024, Volvo – Eicher joint-venture VECV showcased 3 vehicles, including EV intercity coach, Tata Motors raised the curtain on its new 7-meter Ultra EV minibus, Veera Vahana and Exponent Energy launched a “15-minute charging” intercity electric bus, JBM presented E12 Galaxy electric coach at Prawaas 4.0, EKA Mobility unveiled 9-meter EV bus model.

SUN Mobility and Veera Vahana on battery swapping

SUN Mobility is a provider of energy infrastructure and services for electric vehicles (EVs) founded in 2017. It has onboarded over 26,000 vehicles across two, three and small four-wheeler fleet segments and counts on “more than 630 battery swapping stations across the country, clocking around 1.6 million kilometers and 60,000 battery swaps each day”.

Tje company can leverage a network of 37,000 fuel stations across the country thanks to its recent strategic joint venture with IndianOil. The goal is to streamline the customer’s EV experience by offering Battery as a Service (BaaS) nationwide and alleviate worries about battery cost, battery obsolescence, maintenance, replacement, and charging time.

Battery swapping is expected to “will bring down the upfront cost of the buses by 40%, matching the upfront cost of traditional ICE buses and this coupled with easy access to financing will break the entry barrier for adoption of EVs by fleet owners. Further, it reduces operational costs of fleet operators by up to 20%, while increasing uptime and higher utilization of buses owing to the swift swapping process of under three minutes. The compact and light form factor of the battery ensures higher payload-carrying capacities”, SUN Mobility highlights in a press note.

Still according to the company’s figures, “Today, buses and trucks form about 5% of the total vehicle population but contribute about 50% of the tailpipe emissions. 90% of the commercial vehicles segment is privately owned and given this sector is not subsidized, battery swapping can drive an additional 30% increase in EV adoption and play a vital role in achieving India’s goal of zero carbon emissions in heavy commercial vehicles”.

SUN Mobility and Veera Vahana: unlocking billions

“SUN Mobility has revitalized HEVs by overcoming major obstacles for bus operators such as high entry cost of ownership, exacerbated by inadequate HEV financing, extended downtime from lengthy charging periods, and significant strain of rolling out charging infrastructure. Our partnership with Veera Vahana marks a significant milestone as we introduce India’s first modular swapping technology that will provide a practical and cost-effective solution for operators, enhancing efficiency, and reducing operational costs,” said Ashok Agarwal, CEO- HEV, SUN Mobility.

“As one of the fastest-growing.bus manufacturers in India, Veera Vahana has been setting new benchmarks in quality and innovation of transportation. We are proud to partner with world pioneers in battery swapping and leverage indigenous innovation and engineering potential to develop truly world-class electric mobility solutions,” said K Srinivas Reddy, Managing Director, Veera Vahana.

“Over the past 7 years, SUN Mobility has been leading the charge in revolutionizing the electric mobility sector, particularly with our solutions for the 2W and 3W segments. Our latest innovation for HEVs will disrupt the commercial vehicle sector and accelerate the electrification of this crucial segment, vital to the cargo and passenger transportation industry,” said Chetan Maini, Co-Founder and Chairman of SUN Mobility. “We are thrilled to pioneer this alongside Veera Vahana and confident that it will unlock a multi-billion dollar opportunity for OEMs, fleet operators, and financiers, and position India as a global pioneer and leader in transportation electrification models,” he added.