The world’s biggest EV battery maker, CATL, plans to expand its battery swap business into Europe, according to the board member. The company’s Choco-SEB packs could be swapped in 100 seconds, providing up to 600 km of CLTC range. However, there is one big “if” in the group’s plan.
CATL is the world’s biggest EV battery maker. According to China EV DataTracker, CATL produced packs for 105.83 GWh in China, acquiring 44.3% of the market. This company first announced its entry into the battery swap business in 2022 with a new brand called Evogo. However, this project wasn’t successful. So, CATL started over in December 2024 by introducing the second generation of Choco-SEB battery.
More about CATL battery swap technology
CATL unveiled two standardized battery packs designed for swapping. The battery maker calls them Choco-SEB (Swapping Electric Blocks) due to their shape, which looks similar to a piece of chocolate. They support LFP and ternary NMC chemistry variants. The first battery is 20#. It provides up to 500 km of CLTC range to A0-class vehicles. The second pack is 25# with a range of up to 600 km under CLTC conditions. It is designed for A-to-B-class BEVs.
These Choco-SEB batteries are stored in standardized swap stations. They have 14 – 30 battery compartments. It takes each station 100 seconds to change a depleted battery for a charged one. The maximum daily capacity of one station is 822 swaps. According to CATL, the cost of using a Choco-SEB battery swap subscription plan is 0.1 yuan per km (0.014 USD).
On May 25, 2025, the first batch of vehicles with new Choco-SEB batteries was delivered to a Chongqing taxi operator in China. These vehicles are Changan Oshan 520 sedans with 25# 56 kWh LFP batteries on board. The biggest battery maker has already established 34 stations in this city. It also plans to open 16 more stations here by the end of 2025.
CATL aims to build 1,000 swap stations in 2025. The three-year target is the establishment of 10,000 facilities. And the final goal is the establishment of 30,000 stations. Now, the company reportedly decided to expand its battery swap business into Europe.
CATL battery swap business in Europe
On June 26, the Financial Times reported that CATL plans to bring its battery-swapping technology to Europe. CATL board secretary Jiang Li shared with the source that the company can copy the business model in Europe and other regions after reaching the 10,000 stations goal domestically.
Jiang Li highlighted that CATL faces some geopolitical difficulties. However, the company is still open to cooperating, especially in research and development. Moreover, the board secretary shared that he sees “huge potential” for battery swapping in Europe. This technology will make batteries cheaper and longer-lasting. It will also help to reduce the cost of buying an electric car.
Previously, CATL announced it reached a strategic cooperation agreement with FAW Group on establishing a battery swap station network in Hong Kong.
Editor’s comment
As previously mentioned, there is one big “if” in the CATL’s plans around the battery swap business in Europe. The Chinese giant wants to first achieve the 10,000 swap stations installation goal in China. CATL aims to achieve this number in three years. However, the current industry leader, Nio, has 3,376 swap stations across China. This network has been developing since 2018. It will be difficult for CATL to reach the 10,000 stations goal in a short period.
Moreover, it is difficult to promote battery swap stations in Europe. For example, Nio initially planned to establish 120 battery swap stations in Europe by the end of 2023. However, the automaker operates slightly more than 50 stations in Europe at the moment, falling short of expectations.
