Italian car giant Fiat says it will ‘redefine’ and monumentally improve electric car ownership in Europe by rapidly speeding up charging times – one of the biggest complaints motorists have regarding switching to EVs.

The Turin-based manufacturer hopes to get a head start on rival EV makers with the introduction of a ‘technological revolution’ that guarantees owners can fully recharge the batteries in their zero-emission cars in just five minutes.

It today confirmed its first battery swapping station has opened in Madrid.

Launched in partnership with charging solution provider Ample and car sharing service Free2move, it promises to ‘break one of the barriers to electrification’.

A fleet of 40 Fiat 500e cars are now available in the Spanish city that can access a battery swap station. On arrival, a depleted battery unit can be swapped for a fully charged one in around the same time it takes to fill up a petrol car with fuel.

It means Fiat is set to go head-to-head with Chinese EV mega companies Nio and BYD, both of which are also promising full battery recharges in Europe in less than five minutes.

Fiat now has 40 500e electric cars in Madrid that are compatible with Ample’s battery swapping technology. It means the EVs being used as mobility vehicles in the Spanish city can have their depleted battery substituted with a fully charged one in under 5 minutes

By this summer, Fiat says it will have 100 500e electric city cars using the battery swapping station.

This will be part of a ‘test process’ before the technology is ‘expanded to private customers soon’.

Announcing the move, Fiat’s statement reads: ‘This collaboration represents a significant step forward in offering a technical solution that further simplifies the use of EVs, while also reflecting the Italian brand’s commitment towards promoting urban and sustainable mobility.’

Fiat says its diminutive 500e is ‘perfectly suited’ for use as a battery-swap EV, though its cars have been heavily adapted to be compatible with the stations.

They will use Ample’s own battery packs instead of the original units installed by the Italian marque. 

They have been designed to be easy and fast to disconnect from a vehicle’s chassis, eject and substitute with another.

Ample has been developing its own modular battery pack to be compatible with various EV platforms to become ‘drop-in replacements’ for the original batteries fitted by respective car makers.

The Italian car giant says battery swapping tech will ‘redefine’ and monumentally improve electric car ownership in Europe

Announcing the move, Fiat’s statement reads: ‘This collaboration represents a significant step forward in offering a technical solution that further simplifies the use of EVs, while also reflecting the Italian brand’s commitment towards promoting urban and sustainable mobility’

How does the technology work? 

Cars fitted with these universal battery packs are automatically recognised by the swapping stations.

Drivers can then use a dedicated mobile app to confirm they want to swap their battery.

While full details for how the system removes and replaces the batteries has not been revealed, the collaborating companies promise ‘fast and easy swapping’ in less than five minutes.

It involves the 500e cars being driven onto a raised platform, with robots below removing a depleted battery from the underside of the chassis before loading it will a 100 per cent charged replacement.

‘The solution offers a flexible and scalable alternative to traditional charging, maximising fleet availability, reducing operational costs, and minimizing reliance on the charging infrastructure,’ the car maker said on Friday.

By this summer, Fiat – in partnership with battery swap provider Ample and mobility service Free2move – will have 100 500e electric city cars using the battery swapping station in Madrid

The Madrid pilot has been described as a ‘test process’ before the technology is ‘expanded to private customers soon’

The pilot scheme will be used to assess the efficacy of battery swapping. Ample says learnings will be taken to develop its modular battery tech while Fiat and parent group will gain vital information to understand the importance of developing new vehicles to use modular battery setups with provisions to quickly and simply swap units.

Olivier Francois, Fiat CEO and Stellantis Global CMO, commented: ‘At Fiat, we are committed to sustainable mobility. Guided by lateral thinking and a focus on simplicity, this new battery swapping technology reflects these values.

‘It significantly reduces the fear of depleting battery mid-trip and dramatically cuts recharge time, delivering a seamless and effortless experience for drivers.

‘We are dedicated to thoroughly testing and analysing this concept in real-world conditions and aiming to expand it to private customers soon.

‘That is why we believe deeply in this project and have chosen our iconic Fiat 500 to spearhead the initiative. It will provide invaluable insights for both our brand and the Group as we shape the future of mobility.’

Khaled Hassounah, CEO of Ample, said the stations will be fundamental to car sharing fleets where ‘every minute spent off the road is lost revenue.’

He added: ‘We’re deeply committed to making Free2move’s transition to electric seamless – -not just in theory, but in daily operations. 

‘Our five-minute battery swaps eliminate charging downtime entirely, helping Free2move keep vehicles available, customers moving, and operations running at full speed.’

The 100-vehicle pilot will be utilised to collate data and insight on the efficacy of the swapping station setup and will ‘play a crucial role in exploring the large-scale implementations of Ample technology’.

The technology will be showcased for the first time on Monday at the MOVE 2025 mobility show hosted at ExCeL London.

Chinese EV maker Nio has built over 3,400 battery swap stations in its homeland and has also installed more than 30 across Europe. In February, it claimed to have completed a staggering 67 million battery swaps globally

Nio’s latest Power Swap 4.0 stations have the capacity to change batteries in just over two minutes – 144 seconds, to be precise – and provide the service to 480 vehicles per day

Over 67 million EV battery swaps have already happened

While the technology sounds like an all-new advancement, this isn’t the first battery swapping station in the world – or even in Europe.

Chinese EV maker Nio has built over 3,400 battery swap stations in its homeland. 

Over 1,000 of these are located on busy motorways where rapid recharging for longer journeys has been identified as a prime solution for this type of technology.

And in May 2022, Nio opened the first of these Power Swap stations in Oslo, identifying Norway as Europe’s leader in the transition to electric vehicles, with nine in ten new car registrations being EVs last year.

There are now more than 30 of European Nio battery swap stations – some in the Netherlands and Denmark – as part of collaborations with Shell. 

It says its latest Power Swap 4.0 stations being installed in China now have the capacity to change batteries in just over two minutes – 144 seconds, to be precise – and provide the service to 480 vehicles per day.

Incredibly, Nio in February claimed to have completed a staggering 67 million swaps globally since launching its swapping stations. 

 Catl, China’s – and the world’s – largest battery producer also recently announced it will build a ‘battery swapping ecosystem’ across the country with support from oil giant Sinopec as the technology becomes increasingly mainstream in East Asia.

While Fiat and Nio are driving down a route towards battery swapping, Chinese EV giant BYD is taking a different approach to provide five-minute charges to drivers.

BYD’s ‘Megawatt Flash Chargers’ use 1,000-volt architecture enabling recharge times equivalent to refuelling a fuel-powered car. The chargers will be rolled out in Europe within the next 12 months

BYD calls the chargers a ‘game changer’ because they can deliver 1.2 miles of range per second, delivering a recharge in just five minutes, removing range and charging anxiety

This month, it confirmed it will bring its ultra-rapid ‘Flash Charger’ technology to Europe in the next 12 months.

These use a 1,000kW architecture, making them much more powerful than Tesla’s Superchargers, which only charge up to 250kW and deliver 172 miles in 15 minutes.

BYD’s executive vice president Stella Li claims the flash chargers will allow EV drivers to replenish their batteries in just five minutes with the technology described as a ‘game changer’ that will boost EV confidence and remove range and charge anxiety.

Initially, the devices will be installed at BYD dealerships, though other partnerships and locations are currently under consideration.