Yichang shows off its fleet of battery-swap taxis

By Shen Yuan, Yichang International Communication Studio

A first batch of 20 battery-swap taxis arrived in Yichang on October 12 and will be in service by the end of the month.

The Dongfeng Fengshen E70H vehicles are equipped with lithium iron phosphate batteries that drivers can swap out for a freshly charged one in just 2 minutes.

These cars have a cruising range of 330 kilometers.

The Yichang Taxi Battery Swap Project is a joint venture by the Three Gorges Group and Hubei Three Gorges Tourism Group.

The Three Gorges Group invested in the construction of the battery-swap stations and agreed to repurchase the batteries when they become obsolete.

The Hubei Three Gorges Tourism Group will manage the project, the battery swaps, and after-sales service for the vehicles.

Nine battery-swap stations will be built in the Yichang urban area by 2030.

Taxi drivers, who will rent vehicle batteries from the Three Gorges Group Battery Bank, will not need to worry about the depreciation of their cars due to the loss of battery capacity.

The batteries bring the cost of driving a taxi down to less than 0.3 yuan (4.11 US cents) per kilometer.