IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i17p7666-d1732410.html

Electric Strategy: Evolutionary Game Analysis of Pricing Strategies for Battery-Swapping Electric Logistics Vehicles

Author

Listed:
  • Guohao Li

    (School of Management, Jiangsu University, Jingkou District, Zhenjiang 212013, China)

  • Mengjie Wei

    (School of Management, Jiangsu University, Jingkou District, Zhenjiang 212013, China)

Abstract

Driven by the urgent need to decarbonize the logistics sector—where conventional vehicles exhibit high energy consumption and emissions, posing significant environmental sustainability challenges—electrification represents a pivotal strategy for reducing emissions and achieving sustainable urban freight transport. Despite rising global electric vehicle sales, the penetration rate of electric logistics vehicles (ELVs) remains comparatively low, impeding progress toward sustainable logistics objectives. Battery-swapping mode (BSM) has emerged as a potential solution to enhance operational efficiency and economic viability, thereby accelerating sustainable adoption. This model improves ELV operational efficiency through rapid battery swaps at centralized stations. This study constructs a tripartite evolutionary game model involving government, consumers, and BSM-ELV manufacturers to analyze market dynamics under diverse strategies. Key considerations include market scale, government environmental benefits, battery leasing/purchasing costs, lifecycle cost analysis (via discount rates), and resource efficiency (reserve battery ratio λ ). MATLAB-2021b-based simulations predict participant strategy evolution paths. Findings reveal that market size and manufacturer expectations significantly influence governmental and manufacturing strategies. Crucially, incorporating discount rates demonstrates that battery leasing reduces consumer enterprises’ initial investment, enhancing economic sustainability and cash flow while offering superior total cost of ownership. Furthermore, gradual reduction of government subsidies effectively stimulates market self-regulation, incentivizes leasing adoption, and bolsters long-term economic/operational sustainability. Market feedback can guide policy adjustments toward fiscally sustainable support mechanisms. This study proposes the following management implications for advancing sustainable logistics: 1. Governments should phase out subsidies systematically to foster market resilience; 2. Manufacturers must invest in BSM R&D to improve efficiency and resource circularity; 3. Consumer enterprises can achieve economic benefits and emission reductions by adopting BSM-ELVs.

Suggested Citation

  • Guohao Li & Mengjie Wei, 2025. "Electric Strategy: Evolutionary Game Analysis of Pricing Strategies for Battery-Swapping Electric Logistics Vehicles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-35, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:17:p:7666-:d:1732410
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/17/7666/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/17/7666/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shuxia Yang & Ruoyang Li & Jialin Li, 2020. "“Separation of Vehicle and Battery” of Private Electric Vehicles and Customer Delivered Value: Based on the Attempt of 2 Chinese EV Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-22, March.
    2. He, Wenbin & Mao, Jianxu & Song, Kai & Li, Zhe & Su, Yulong & Wang, Yaonan & Pan, Xiangcheng, 2023. "Structural performance prediction based on the digital twin model: A battery bracket example," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    3. Patrícia Gomes Dallepiane & Camilo Sepulveda Rangel & Leandro Mallmann & Felipe Gomes Dallepiane & Luciane Silva Neves, 2025. "Optimized Support System for Mobility in the Logistics Processes of Routes with Electric Trucks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-24, May.
    4. Yiqin Lu & Shuang Li, 2023. "Green Transportation Model in Logistics Considering the Carbon Emissions Costs Based on Improved Grey Wolf Algorithm," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-15, July.
    5. Tomáš Settey & Jozef Gnap & František Synák & Tomáš Skrúcaný & Marek Dočkalik, 2021. "Research into the Impacts of Driving Cycles and Load Weight on the Operation of a Light Commercial Electric Vehicle," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-25, December.
    6. Chen, Yuanyi & Hu, Simon & Zheng, Yanchong & Xie, Shiwei & Yang, Qiang & Wang, Yubin & Hu, Qinru, 2024. "Coordinated optimization of logistics scheduling and electricity dispatch for electric logistics vehicles considering uncertain electricity prices and renewable generation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 364(C).
    7. Yang, Shengjie & Yao, Jiangang & Kang, Tong & Zhu, Xiangqian, 2014. "Dynamic operation model of the battery swapping station for EV (electric vehicle) in electricity market," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 544-549.
    8. Xue, Yixi & Zhang, Yi & Wang, Zhuoli & Tian, Shuo & Xiong, Qian & Li, Lydia Qianqian, 2023. "Effects of incentive policies on the purchase intention of electric vehicles in China: Psychosocial value and family ownership," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    9. Raeesi, Ramin & Zografos, Konstantinos G., 2022. "Coordinated routing of electric commercial vehicles with intra-route recharging and en-route battery swapping," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 301(1), pages 82-109.
    10. Kaifu Yuan & Chao Li & Guangqiang Wu, 2023. "Study on Vehicle Supply Chain Operation Mode Selection Based on Battery Leasing and Battery Swapping Services," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-21, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Guohao Li & Tao Wang, 2022. "Long-Term Leases vs. One-Off Purchases: Game Analysis on Battery Swapping Mode Considering Cascade Utilization and Power Structure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-28, December.
    2. Geng, Jichao & Lv, Zhangwen & Li, Wenbo & Dong, Rebecca Kechen & Cheng, Xiu, 2025. "Car drivers' preferences for battery-swapping versus charging models for electric vehicles: Evidence from discrete choice experiments in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 340(C).
    3. Xie, Wei & Han, Guoxin & Zhong, Yuanguang, 2026. "Battery-leasing strategies for electric vehicles considering a performance guarantee," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    4. Bai, Xiaoshan & Li, Baode & Ullah, Inam & Wu, Zongze & Basheer, Shakila & Bashir, Ali Kashif, 2025. "Energy-efficient routing for IoT-enabled multi-truck multi-drone pickup and delivery systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 400(C).
    5. Nafisa Lohawala & Mohammad Arshad Rahman, 2025. "Do Determinants of EV Purchase Intent vary across the Spectrum? Evidence from Bayesian Analysis of US Survey Data," Papers 2504.09854, arXiv.org, revised Jan 2026.
    6. Gull, Muhammad Shuzub & Khalid, Muhammad & Arshad, Naveed, 2024. "Multi-objective optimization of battery swapping station to power up mobile and stationary loads," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 374(C).
    7. Stefan Tabacu & Dragos Popa, 2023. "Backward-Facing Analysis for the Preliminary Estimation of the Vehicle Fuel Consumption," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-19, March.
    8. Jacek Caban & Jan Vrabel & Dorota Górnicka & Radosław Nowak & Maciej Jankiewicz & Jonas Matijošius & Marek Palka, 2023. "Overview of Energy Harvesting Technologies Used in Road Vehicles," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-32, April.
    9. Yufan Huang & Binghai Zhou, 2025. "A Tabu-Bi-label hybridized branch and price algorithm for just-in-time material handling scheduling problems of mixed-model assembly lines with electric vehicle recharging requirements," Journal of Heuristics, Springer, vol. 31(3), pages 1-34, September.
    10. Davatgari, Amir & Cokyasar, Taner & Subramanyam, Anirudh & Larson, Jeffrey & Mohammadian, Abolfazl (Kouros), 2024. "Electric vehicle supply equipment location and capacity allocation for fixed-route networks," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 317(3), pages 953-966.
    11. Cui, Dingsong & Wang, Zhenpo & Liu, Peng & Wang, Shuo & Dorrell, David G. & Li, Xiaohui & Zhan, Weipeng, 2023. "Operation optimization approaches of electric vehicle battery swapping and charging station: A literature review," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PE).
    12. Wang, Zhihao & Li, Wei & Wang, Mengxin, 2024. "Exploring the social diffusion effects of green consumption: Evidence from green innovative products," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    13. Wu, Song-Man & Wang, Qianqian & Chung, Sai-Ho & Hu, Li & Lau, Yui-yip & Liu, Shi Qiang, 2025. "Improving green urban mobility: A study on shared electric vehicles versus taxis," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    14. Dukkanci, Okan & Campbell, James F. & Kara, Bahar Y., 2024. "Facility location decisions for drone delivery: A literature review," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 316(2), pages 397-418.
    15. Liang, Yanni & Zhang, Xingping, 2018. "Battery swap pricing and charging strategy for electric taxis in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 561-577.
    16. Cui, Feifei & An, Dou & Xi, Huan, 2024. "Integrated energy hub dispatch with a multi-mode CAES–BESS hybrid system: An option-based hierarchical reinforcement learning approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 374(C).
    17. Huibing Cheng & Shanshui Zheng, 2022. "Incentive Compensation Mechanism for the Infrastructure Construction of Electric Vehicle Battery Swapping Station under Asymmetric Information," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-18, June.
    18. Arne Jeppe & Heike Proff & Max Eickhoff, 2023. "Economic Potentials of Ecologically Attractive Multi-Life Products—The Example of Lithium-Ion Batteries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-16, July.
    19. Chen, Yuanyi & Zheng, Yanchong & Hu, Simon & Xie, Shiwei & Yang, Qiang, 2024. "Risk-averse energy dispatch for hybrid energy refueling stations considering Boundedly rational mixed user equilibrium and operational uncertainties," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 376(PA).
    20. Lingshu Zhong & Mingyang Pei, 2020. "Optimal Design for a Shared Swap Charging System Considering the Electric Vehicle Battery Charging Rate," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-16, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:17:p:7666-:d:1732410. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.