CATL's Battery Swap Chief Outlines Advantages and Growth Plans for Swap Model

At a media briefing on April 22, Yang Jun, General Manager of CATL’s battery swap business and CEO of EVOGO and Qiji Technology, stated that the core advantage of battery swapping lies not in “speed,” but in the overall user experience and deeper value proposition. He noted that fully automated battery swapping can deliver a better user experience than refueling and emphasized that the vehicle-battery separation model lowers users’ initial vehicle purchase costs. Yang explained that batteries inevitably undergo physical degradation—even with advanced technology—and that leasing batteries shifts the burden of battery degradation and technological obsolescence to third-party asset holders. Users no longer need to worry about purchasing a battery model that may soon become outdated, as the battery-as-a-service model allows them to upgrade to the latest battery version at any time. Moreover, the battery-swapping model facilitates systematic battery recycling and reuse. Yang pointed out that although lead-acid batteries have been subject to mandatory national recycling regulations for over a decade, their formal recycling rate has only recently surpassed 50%. In contrast, vehicle-battery separation offers a pathway to planned recycling and remanufacturing of traction batteries, supporting the sustainable development of the new energy industry. Previously, CATL launched its Choco 26# swappable battery pack based on an 800V high-voltage architecture, initially offering a 75 kWh version, with higher-capacity variants planned for B- and C-segment vehicles. The Choco series (20#, 22#, and 26#) now covers vehicles ranging from A0 to C segments, forming what CATL calls its “mass-market battery swap” solution. To date, CATL has partnered with 11 automakers and 18 passenger vehicle brands across 25 models. The company has built a total of 4,000 “Ultra Swap & Charge Integrated Stations,” spanning nearly 190 cities nationwide and covering China’s “12 vertical and 11 horizontal” expressway network. CATL plans to deploy more than 100,000 shared energy-supply infrastructure units by the end of 2028.