CATL (300750.SZ/03750.HK) is striving towards its annual target for the construction of chocolate battery swap stations.
A reporter from The Paper learned from CATL's subsidiary, Times Electric Service, which focuses on battery swapping business, that on October 21, the Chocolate Battery Swap Station at Hanyu Jingu Station in Jinan High-tech Zone, Shandong Province was completed. Times Electric Service now has more than 700 chocolate battery swap stations across the country.
According to Times Electric Services, in the fourth quarter of this year, the Chocolate Battery Swap service will fully sprint towards its 2025 goal of 1,000 stations. CATL has previously announced a clear timetable for battery swap network construction: by 2025, it will build 1,000 Chocolate Battery Swap stations, while also expanding into Hong Kong and Macau. The mid-term goal is 10,000 stations, and the ultimate goal is 30,000 to 40,000 stations.
To date, CATL's Chocolate Battery Swap system has been deployed in 39 cities nationwide, and its battery swap network has begun to take shape in core urban clusters. Specifically, 179 stations have been built in the Yangtze River Delta region, covering key cities such as Shanghai, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou, and Hefei. Leveraging the thriving county economies, this initiative is progressing towards county-wide battery swap availability. 123 stations have been deployed in the Sichuan-Chongqing region; 121 stations have been deployed in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region; and 116 stations have been deployed in the Greater Bay Area, covering seven cities including Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
It's worth noting that as CATL officially ramps up its battery swapping business, the speed of its battery swapping station construction continues to break industry records. The previous fastest pace in the industry, reaching 1,000 stations, took over four years. Chocolate Battery Swap plans to reach its goal of 1,000 stations in just one year.
Times Electric Service also revealed that Chocolate Battery Swap plans to build more than 2,500 battery swap stations in more than 120 cities across the country by 2026.
Since the beginning of this year, CATL has further expanded its industrial ecosystem through strong alliances with industry giants. Just on October 14th, JD Auto announced a joint launch of a "National Good Car" with Times Electric Service and GAC Group. CATL and JD have entered into a strategic partnership, integrating their battery technology with digital supply chains and omni-channel service advantages. The partnership will establish an official direct sales channel for the Chocolate Battery Swap product, jointly promote the vehicle-battery separation model, and expand sales of the Chocolate Battery Swap vehicle.
In addition, CATL is collaborating with traditional energy giant Sinopec to build a nationwide battery swap ecosystem. Currently, the "Chocolate Battery Swap Station" and the first Qiji heavy-duty truck battery swap station jointly developed by the two parties are both in operation.
At the Chocolate Battery Swap Ecosystem Conference at the end of 2024, CATL officially demonstrated its commitment to a major entry into the battery swap business. Zeng Yuqun, Chairman of CATL, announced the launch of a new generation of Chocolate Battery Swap solutions and the "Chocolate Battery Swap Ecosystem." He stated, "We are committed to providing the highest quality batteries, utilizing superior resources, and developing new charging infrastructure." Zeng Yuqun predicted that by 2030, the market share would be split between battery swapping, home charging, and public charging stations.
