Chinese battery swapping provider U Power, together with Dutch partner UNEX EV, has opened Southeast Asia’s first smart battery swapping station in Phuket, Thailand. The facility, designed primarily for electric taxis and ride-hailing fleets, marks the start of U Power’s regional expansion beyond mainland China.
Developed in partnership with Thai energy conglomerate Susco, the new Phuket station uses U Power’s UOTTA fully automated technology. The system allows battery swaps in about three minutes without manual intervention and supports multiple EV models, including those compatible with future Level 4 autonomous driving.
According to local media reports, U Power invested 15 million baht (around €400,000) in the Phuket facility. The station is capable of servicing up to 100 vehicles daily. Plans are already underway for eleven additional stations—one more in Phuket and ten in Bangkok—targeting both passenger vehicles and future commercial vehicle applications.
While the first site involved a relatively modest investment, U Power estimates some commercial vehicle swapping stations could cost upwards of 50 million baht (approximately €1.3 million) due to larger capacity requirements. The company is also exploring battery swapping network expansion to Singapore and Malaysia, with further announcements expected later in 2025.
Earlier this year, U Power, in collaboration with UNEX EV and SAIC-CP MG, supplied 21 MG EP vehicles—battery-swapping enabled versions of the MG5 EV—to Auto Drive EV Public Co., Ltd. These vehicles are now part of an electric taxi fleet operating in Phuket and Bangkok, serviced by U Power’s new battery swap infrastructure.
With the launch of its first smart station in Thailand, U Power is positioning itself to scale across Southeast Asia, addressing infrastructure gaps for EV fleets and accelerating adoption of battery-swapping technology in the region.
Source: media-outreach.com, prachachat.net