Targeting the "gas stations" of electric vehicles, CATL is building another trillion-yuan public battery swapping ecosystem.
At the end of January, CATL held an annual partner conference for its chocolate battery swapping business in Xiamen. This conference did not invite the media, nor was it widely publicized. However, we could see the presence of companies such as Sinopec, Green Energy Huichong, and Didi Charging on the official video account. On the surface, these companies seem to be "competitors" of Times Electric Service. But at the event, the parties shook hands, chatted with smiles, and discussed this year's cooperation content. With the shift between competition and cooperation in business, CATL is introducing more partners to jointly build an energy replenishment ecosystem.
In the field of power batteries, which are like the "fuel tanks" of electric vehicles, CATL has already built a trillion - level business. Its next target for a trillion - level energy ecosystem is the "gas stations" of electric vehicles, that is, energy replenishment facilities. Building an energy replenishment ecosystem is not something that CATL can achieve alone. It must be done together with partners in the upstream and downstream of the ecosystem.
The outline of this landscape is gradually becoming clear. At the end of 2024, Times Electric Service, the battery swapping business entity under CATL, began large - scale construction of battery swapping stations. By the end of 2025, it had built more than 1,000 chocolate battery swapping stations in 45 cities.
Currently, there are approximately over 100,000 gas stations across the country to meet the refueling needs of cars. As a reference, the long - term goal set by CATL for Times Electric Service is to build 30,000 battery swapping stations nationwide.
Now, after the completion of 1,000 battery swapping stations, the pace of Times Electric Service has suddenly accelerated. According to the plan, Times Electric Service will continue to build 2,000 chocolate battery swapping stations this year, 2026, bringing the cumulative total to over 3,000.
What does 3,000 battery swapping stations mean? NIO, a car brand known for its battery swapping service, currently has 3,700 battery swapping stations. It is precisely by virtue of a battery swapping experience close to refueling that NIO has established a strong moat for its high - end vehicle business.
However, it should be noted that this is the result of nearly 10 years of continuous investment. That is to say, the pace of Times Electric Service is almost compressed to one - quarter of that.
Infrastructure construction is never easy. From site selection, approval to construction, each step is time - consuming and labor - intensive. Qu Guojun, the person in charge of the Energy Development Department of Times Electric Service, told 36Kr that site selection alone is a difficult problem. "In the whole year of 2025, we looked at more than 10,000 plots of land, and finally built 1,000 stations."
Therefore, in the competition among new energy vehicle manufacturers, energy replenishment infrastructure has always been a key battleground. For example, Tesla, Li Auto, and XPeng have large - scale self - owned super - charging stations, and NIO has battery swapping stations. Moreover, in addition to the need for human and financial resources, strong team execution is also required.
From this perspective, the completion of 1,000 chocolate battery swapping stations by Times Electric Service in one year is clearly evidence of its execution ability and organizational efficiency. Internally, the team can establish a mature operation system and combat team through this. Externally, it has also dispelled the doubts of industrial partners, vehicle manufacturers, and consumers with practical actions and determination. At the Chocolate Ecosystem Conference in December 2024, Yang Jun, the general manager of CATL's battery swapping business and the CEO of Times Electric Service, made a clear path plan. CATL will build the first 1,000 stations by itself, jointly build 10,000 stations with various partners in the middle stage, and finally reach 30,000 stations through social co - construction.
CATL wants to prove two things with its chocolate battery swapping service: the battery swapping path can be successful, and a win - win ecosystem can also be established.
Deng Xu, the vice - president of Times Electric Service, revealed to 36Kr that more and more cooperation offers have been received, and the number of chocolate battery swapping models is growing rapidly. In 2026 alone, more than 10 models with chocolate battery swapping cooperation will be launched.
For CATL, its subsidiary Times Electric Service, acting as a "crazy builder of energy replenishment infrastructure", also reflects the group's strategic determination to expand from product technology to energy services. And this energy industry ecosystem from manufacturing to services has long been conceived by Zeng Yujun, the chairman of CATL.
Two "Chocolates" Help CATL Achieve a Closed - Loop Battery Life
In 2021, Times Electric Service was established. At the 2024 ecosystem conference, Zeng Yujun expressed his thoughts on this layout: In the future electric vehicle energy replenishment market, battery swapping, home charging, and public charging will each account for one - third. With CATL's solid battery product technology, it is natural to expand into battery swapping services.
Surrounding battery swapping, a large number of services such as finance, second - hand cars, and green electricity consumption can be extended, and a closed - loop asset management of the entire battery life cycle can also be completed.
It should be noted that lithium salt, one of the core raw materials of batteries, is different from gasoline in fuel vehicles. The latter is burned and decomposed in one - time use, while lithium salt can be continuously refined and recycled in the metallurgical industry.
However, unfortunately, China is not a traditional lithium - rich country. High - quality lithium mines such as spodumene and salt lakes are mostly concentrated in Australia and South America. Therefore, with the rapid development of the industry, it is inevitable to face the shortage of lithium salt. This is a supply - chain shortcoming that a major industrial country cannot afford. In 2023, due to the imbalance between supply and demand, the price of lithium salt soared tenfold from a low of 60,000 yuan per ton to 600,000 yuan. This not only sounded an alarm for CATL but also for the entire lithium - battery industry chain in China.
This further verifies Zeng Yujun's concept of a closed - loop industrial chain. Currently, Bangpu Times, CATL's battery recycling company, can supply some raw materials, but it still needs to spend a large amount of money to recycle retired batteries every year. With the rapid growth of the scale of Times Electric Service, this missing link can be accurately filled.
Of course, in addition to the industrial closed - loop, there is still no perfect solution for electric vehicle energy replenishment, which is another reason for CATL to enter the battery swapping service.
The new energy vehicle market is growing rapidly. In the just - past 2025, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles reached 52%, and the sales volume of new energy passenger cars was 15.32 million. It is estimated that by 2030, the number of new energy vehicles in use will reach 136 million. Such a large group of vehicle users will surely need a safe, efficient, and sustainable energy replenishment system.
Fast charging and ultra - fast charging are becoming selling points for various vehicle manufacturers. However, the high - power electricity consumption of hundreds of kilowatt - hours may pose a challenge to the power grid load. Taking a 480 - kw ultra - fast charging station as an example, its power consumption is almost the same as that of an office building. Especially when the peak of charging activities often coincides with residential electricity consumption, it may cause an even higher peak, while the power grid hopes to smooth out the peaks and fill the valleys.
Home charging is friendly to the power grid, but its efficiency is limited, and it is difficult to become a public facility. According to the data from the National Charging Facility Monitoring and Service Platform, as of the end of November 2025, there were 14.697 million home charging piles. The data disclosed by the Ministry of Public Security shows that as of the end of June 2025, the number of new energy vehicles in China was 36.89 million. That is to say, less than half of the vehicle owners have home charging piles.
Battery swapping can make up for the shortcomings of the above two energy replenishment forms and take into account both efficiency and safety.
This is also the basis for Zeng Yujun's statement that "in the future, home charging, fast charging, and battery swapping will each account for one - third of electric vehicle energy replenishment."
"Imagine, with 30,000 battery swapping stations, conservatively estimated, each station provides about 4,000 kWh of service per day, with a total daily consumption of 120 million kWh. This is not only an economic account but also a contribution made by CATL to the consumption of green electricity and the country's zero - carbon strategy," said Qu Guojun.
Of course, battery swapping is not a new thing. Questions about the operating efficiency, investment cost, and coverage density of the battery swapping model have never disappeared.
CATL's answer is standardization. First, it has developed standardized batteries, namely the 20# and 25# battery packs, which can cover 95% of pure - electric vehicle models. A 35# battery pack has also been launched for light trucks, which can be compatible with 100% of pure - electric vehicle models.
"We are using standardization to find the greatest common divisor in the energy replenishment service industry," Deng Xu told 36Kr. Even the BMS output of the battery packs is unified. In the process of cooperating with vehicle manufacturers, Times Electric Service will also provide suggestions to vehicle manufacturers from the perspective of energy consumption and assist in reducing energy - related indicators such as the wind - resistance system.
Regarding the investment in station construction and the coverage, CATL is also very determined. What Times Electric Service needs to do is to improve the operating efficiency internally and release user value externally.
From 2B to 2C, Times Electric Service Promotes "National Battery Swapping"
In the century - long history of the automotive industry, refueling has always been equal for all. However, in the era of new energy vehicles, due to factors such as investment thresholds and operational complexity, energy replenishment has become a selling point for high - end automotive brands to build differentiated competitiveness. The more convenient and efficient the energy replenishment methods, such as super - charging and battery swapping, the more they are concentrated in the hands of high - end automotive brands.
Especially battery swapping. It can replenish energy within 1 - 2 minutes, with an efficiency comparable to refueling. It can also separate the vehicle and battery assets through financial tools such as Baas, reduce the vehicle price, and help users avoid the asset depreciation caused by battery attenuation or technological upgrades. In addition, the timely detection during the battery swapping process also enhances the safety of vehicle use.
It is precisely because of the gradually emerging value of battery swapping that NIO's new ES8 can stand out in the high - end new energy vehicle market as a pure - electric vehicle. In November last year, the NIO ES8 even became the best - selling model in the price range above 400,000 yuan, while the second and third - ranked models were both hybrid products.
The value of battery swapping has been clearly verified. What is left is just a powerful promoter to popularize it to the mass market. Times Electric Service, positioned as a standardized energy replenishment facility for new energy vehicles and backed by a large - scale industrial resource pool integrating products, technology, and manufacturing, is exactly the right candidate for this role.
Of course, the team of Times Electric Service knows that resources are just the starting point and springboard. Designing a long - term and sustainable business model is the key to promoting the battery swapping business healthily.
In Chongqing, Times Electric Service has already run through the business model.
Qu Guojun introduced that Times Electric Service has created a model in Chongqing and formed a methodology of collaborative cooperation among the "government - electric service - vehicle manufacturer".
In just one year in 2025, Times Electric Service built more than 70 stations in Chongqing, opened 52 stations, served nearly 5,500 vehicles, and achieved a user satisfaction rate of over 99.8%.
After actual operation verification, the break - even point for a single station in Chongqing is 5,500 kWh of electricity per day.
"Chongqing started formal operation in April. In September, the gross profit of the single - city operation turned positive. By December, the daily average battery swapping volume in the whole city was close to 300,000 kWh. On January 1st, it exceeded the peak, reaching 370,000 kWh per day."
While the business model is gradually being verified, Times Electric Service has also shifted its focus from the operating vehicle market to the larger personal vehicle market.
The Aion UT Supper, a cooperation project among CATL, GAC, and JD.com, is the first step for Times Electric Service to enter the personal market. With the chocolate battery swapping service, the starting price of the Aion UT Supper is as low as 49,900 yuan, combined with a battery rental plan of 399 yuan per month, which caused a sensation as soon as it was launched.
After the Aion UT Supper, Times Electric Service will continue to launch more than 10 chocolate battery swapping cooperation models this year, half of which are for personal use.
Deng Xu told 36Kr that in the high - end vehicle market, Times Electric Service will cooperate with partners for layout, and its own mission is still to promote "national battery swapping".
This is obviously a practical move. In fact, the rapid penetration of new energy vehicles in recent years is precisely because of the rapid popularization of pure - electric vehicles priced below 200,000 yuan.
According to the retail data of the China Passenger Car Association from January to November 2025, the terminal sales volume of the pure - electric vehicle market was 6.906 million units, and more than 4.5 million of them were priced below 200,000 yuan.
Breaking into the affordable market and promoting national battery swapping not only conforms to the original intention of Times Electric Service as a standardized public energy replenishment facility but also closely meets market demand and business logic. This snowball is starting to roll.
Technology + Quality + Ecosystem: The Snowball of Times Electric Service Rolls Faster and Faster
Using product technology and quality as a lever to drive operating efficiency is the underlying business logic of CATL.
Times Electric Service completely follows this concept. Whether it is the service life of the battery swapping station or the life of the chocolate battery, Times Electric Service designs them to serve multiple generations of vehicles. This can greatly reduce the amortization pressure.
"As we all know, CATL is a leading enterprise in high - end manufacturing, and it is a global benchmark in terms of technology accumulation, intelligent manufacturing level, quality system, and supply - chain leadership. As a wholly - owned subsidiary of CATL, Times Electric Service inherits the industrial manufacturing genes of its parent company. That's why we have the ability to standardize our products and industrial manufacturing capabilities, so as to provide safe, convenient, and economical battery swapping services," said Qu Guojun.
According to Wu Yuanhe, the person in charge of the Product Development Department of Times Electric Service, first of all, the core safety of the battery swapping station is battery safety. The cloud platform designed by the company monitors the batteries 24/7. "Once there is a battery with a warning risk