Each of CATL’s Choco-SEB stations can handle 822 battery swaps every day
May 29, 2025 at 04:57
- CATL wants to have 1,000 stations in 31 cities across China by the end of this year.
- The new battery swap stations can perform 822 swaps each day.
- Nio, Aion, SAIC, BAIC, and others are all building EVs to support CATL swapping.
Tesla may have been the first automaker to toy with the idea of battery swapping stations for its EVs, but it’s China’s leading car manufacturerΣ that have taken the idea and run with it. Nio is currently the leading player in battery swap technology, operating several thousand stations across the country, and now even in Europe. Soon, battery-swapping will become even more commonplace in China.
Earlier this week, Changan Automobile delivered the first 1,000 examples of its Oshan 520 sedan. Built for local taxi services, these vehicles are especially important as they are the first to use CATL’s new Choco-SEB swappable battery packs. These batteries can be swapped out in just 100 seconds at dedicated stations that will soon litter China. Currently, there are 34 Choco-SEB swap stations in the city of Chongqing, and by the end of 2025, CATL plans to have 1,000 stations in 31 cities.
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CATL, which just so happens to be the world’s largest EV battery supplier, has inked deals with GAC, Chery, Nio, SAIC, FAW, BAIC, and others to build EVs with these new battery packs. This means vehicles from all those brands will be able to use CATL’s swap stations, which can handle 822 swaps each day each.
In the case of the Oshan 520, it has a relatively compact 56 kWh battery pack that provides the sedan with a range of up to 515 km (320 miles). It’s also relatively cheap, starting at 166,890 yuan (~$23,100). The use of battery swap technology is particularly beneficial for taxi drivers, eliminating the need to take up valuable work time to sit at a high-speed charger and top up their vehicle. In just 100 seconds, they can have a fully-charged battery in less time than it would take an ICE car to be fueled up at a gas station.
A slew of other Chinese EVs have already been confirmed to support the Choco-SEB battery system. These include the new GAC Aion S, Hongqi E-QM5, SAIC Roewe D7, BAIC C66, Wuling Bingo, Wuling Starlight, SAIC Rising R7, SAIC Maxus Mifa 9, and the SAIC Maxus Dana.
