Blinq Mobility Develops India's First Battery-Swapping Station For Electric Cars

Blinq Mobility Demonstrates A Battery Swap In Just 2 Minutes And 48 Seconds

Blinq Mobility, an EV startup, is developing India’s first affordable electric car with battery-swapping technology. This innovation aims to solve common electric vehicle problems like long charging times and high ownership costs. The company has shown how its battery-swapping system will work in real life.

How Blinq Mobility’s Battery Swapping Works

Blinq Mobility released a video demonstrating the battery-swapping process with its EV prototype, the Car1. The video shows the car driving with a low battery. A warning then appears on the car’s large touchscreen, offering options to “Dismiss” or “Navigate To Station.”

The driver selects “Navigate To Station” and finds the nearest Blinq Mobility battery-swapping station on the map. Once at the station, the driver turns the drive mode selector to “S” for “Swapping.” The vehicle then gets clamped into place, with two clamps locking its wheels.

Next, the old battery is replaced with a new one. When the swapping mode is active, the car’s side mirrors fold in, and the main contactor opens. This isolates the battery, making it safe to remove. The LED headlights and daytime running lights turn off during this step. Precision lasers align the vehicle to ensure a smooth swap. The car lifts, its primary battery disconnects and removes, and a fully charged battery slides in and connects.

After the new battery docks and all safety checks are complete, the vehicle lowers. The Blinq logo, headlights, and DRLs turn back on. The car then drives off the ramp. The central screen shows the battery is 100 percent charged, with a range of 252 km. The entire battery swap took only 2 minutes and 48 seconds.

Blinq Mobility: Solving EV Challenges

Blinq Mobility is a Gurugram-based EV startup. Nikesh Bisht, an IIT Delhi alumnus and former CTO of Vecmocon Technologies, founded the company. Ankit Kumar, who previously worked at Tesla on projects like the Cybertruck and Robotaxi, serves as its CTO. The startup focuses on making electric vehicles more practical for daily use by removing charging downtime.

Unlike most electric cars available today, Blinq’s EV was designed from the start around battery-swapping technology. This approach helps eliminate long waits for charging. The company plans to launch this EV at a price similar to that of a three-wheeler, making it very affordable.

The Car1: A Compact City Solution

The company’s first electric vehicle, named Car1 (formerly known as Pod), is a compact city car. Its small size will make it easy to drive through crowded urban roads. Blinq Mobility is currently conducting extensive road testing and expects to start pilot programs with selected early customers before the official launch. The company has not yet shared specific details about the production model’s battery pack, electric motor, or exact range.