Fisker partners with Ample for electric SUVs with swappable batteries

(Reuters) - Electric vehicle maker Fisker Inc said on Tuesday it would start delivering its sports utility vehicle Ocean with swappable batteries made by Ample by the start of next year.

The partnership with the battery startup will help Fisker increase scale and adoption of its EVs in the United States and Europe, the electric car maker said, adding that Ample will share revenue related to the battery swapping mechanism.

Battery-swapping, replacing a depleted battery with a freshly charged one, is fast emerging as an alternative to charging EVs at utility stations.

Fisker added that the initial customer for Ample-powered EVs will be fleet operators who are looking to "transition to electric mobility without economic or operational compromises."

Long charging times that are common at most public and commercial charging stations pose a major hurdle to EV adoption.

San Francisco-based Ample is part of a growing group of companies, including Chinese EV makers Nio and Xpeng, trying to revive and update an old idea: Leapfrog charging hurdles by offering quick battery swaps to EV owners concerned about running out of juice while driving.

Ample aims to make its batteries and swapping process more widely available to different brands of carmakers.

(Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)