CATL Enters Car Rental Industry With Battery Swapping, Over 100,000 Swappable Vehicles to Be Introduced

According to news on August 4, recently, CATL, Times Electric Service, CAR Inc., and Zhaoyin Financial Leasing signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Ningde City.

Through quadripartite cooperation, the battery swapping model will be introduced on a large scale into the car rental industry. By deeply integrating energy supply, asset operation, financial support, and vehicle services, a sustainable energy replenishment solution will be provided, achieving joint construction of a full-chain ecosystem in the field of mobility.

Image source: CATL

It is reported that CAR Inc. will fully introduce CATL's "Chocolate" battery swap models, covering multi-level vehicle types including economy, comfort, and business models, suitable for mainstream markets from A0 to B class. This year, pilot projects will be launched and operations will gradually expand to over 100,000 battery swap vehicles.

The vehicle model will be equipped with CATL's Chocolate 20# and 25# standardized battery swap modules, offering a range of 400-600 kilometers. It supports flexible energy replenishment to meet the diverse needs of short and long-term rentals, corporate vehicles, and ride-hailing services.

In the ride-hailing scenario, CAR Inc. will undertake large-scale procurement of chocolate-type battery swap vehicles, focusing on deployment in first-tier and new first-tier cities. Shidai Electric Service will collaborate to build a battery health monitoring platform to ensure real-time battery safety and stable endurance.

In the field of infrastructure, leveraging Shenzhou Car Rental’s nationwide network of over 2,000 offline outlets and parking resources, a battery swapping network will be jointly established to cover key transportation hubs, enabling rental customers to enjoy efficient "swap upon return" services. In addition, the battery swapping stations will prioritize the use of photovoltaic green electricity and participate in grid peak shaving and frequency regulation, contributing to the development of a new power system. On the digitalization front, the Shenzhou Car Rental App will integrate battery swapping station navigation and settlement functions, creating a closed-loop service covering the entire "rental-battery swap-return" process.

To reduce vehicle leasing costs and improve operational efficiency, CMB Financial Leasing and Times EV will provide Shenzhou Car Rental with competitively priced battery leasing solutions for self-operated vehicles. The four parties will also establish a special working group to collaborate with automakers in optimizing costs across vehicle procurement, financial insurance, and used car management, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of products throughout their entire lifecycle and offering users a more efficient and convenient travel experience.

Image source: CATL

At the Chocolate Battery Swap Ecosystem Conference held on December 18, 2024, CATL Chairman Robin Zeng officially announced the launch of a new generation of Chocolate Battery Swap solutions and the initiation of the “Chocolate Battery Swap Ecosystem.” Drawing a parallel to 92# and 95# gasoline at gas stations, CATL has introduced two standardized Chocolate Battery Swap blocks, named the 20# and 25# swap blocks, providing users with personalized power distribution services according to their needs through different power capacities.

At that time, CATL also provided a timetable for the construction of battery swap stations: by 2025, it will build 1,000 "chocolate" battery swap stations on its own and will also expand into Hong Kong and Macau. In the mid-term plan, it aims to jointly build 10,000 stations with various partners. As the battery swap ecosystem grows, through joint efforts by the whole society, the total number of battery swap stations will eventually reach 30,000.