The Fiat 500e has officially become the first European electric car to support battery swapping technology, though for now this is limited to car-sharing services. Battery swapping debuts on the iconic Italian city car as the first tangible result of the collaboration between Stellantis and Ample, a startup leading the development of modular battery-swapping solutions.
The application is being piloted through Free2move’s car-sharing service, first in Madrid, with plans to expand to other European cities. Free2move and Ample will officially present the project at MOVE 2025, the world’s leading event on sustainable mobility, taking place on June 18–19 at ExCeL London. At the Stellantis Ventures stand (Main Entrance, Stand 1), visitors will be able to see a live demonstration of the battery-swapping system.
Why Battery Swapping makes sense for car sharing
While battery swapping hasn’t gained significant traction among private EV users in Europe — as evidenced by the limited adoption of Nio’s system — the technology could be a game changer in the car-sharing sector.
Currently, swapping infrastructure is limited to a few Nio-only stations in Scandinavia and Germany, and the European market still strongly favors full vehicle ownership, making battery leasing less attractive. But for shared mobility, the model makes much more sense: it allows vehicles to get back on the road in a fraction of the time compared to traditional charging.
That’s why Free2move will introduce a fleet of Fiat 500e vehicles in Madrid, equipped with interchangeable modular batteries supplied by Ample. This innovation allows for a full recharge in under five minutes, eliminating downtime and maximizing fleet availability. It also reduces operational costs and lowers dependency on conventional charging infrastructure.
The choice of Madrid as the launch city is strategic. The Spanish capital is deeply committed to ecological transition and is among Europe’s top-performing metropolises in sustainability, with an ambitious target of reducing emissions by 65% by 2030. It also supports Spain’s national goal of having 5.5 million electric vehicles on the road by the end of the decade.
In this context, the Fiat 500e proved to be the ideal platform for integrating and testing Ample’s technology. An initial batch of 40 vehicles is already in operation, with plans to expand the fleet to 100 units by mid-2025.
At the heart of the project lies Ample’s modular battery swapping system. Designed to be compatible with multiple EV platforms, it allows equipped vehicles to be automatically recognized by swap stations. The swap process is fully automated, controlled via a mobile app, and completed in under five minutes — a practical response to the limitations of traditional EV charging.
The partnership is backed by Stellantis, through both the Fiat brand and the Free2move Charge division, which focuses on energy and charging solutions. The data gathered from this pilot will be key in assessing the potential for large-scale deployment of Ample’s technology across Europe.
