SAIC-GM-Wuling has entered into a partnership with CATL to use the latter's Choco-SEB battery swap solution in the logistics vehicle segment.
SAIC-GM-Wuling has entered into a partnership with CATL to use the Chinese power battery giant's battery swap technology in the logistics vehicle segment.
The two companies on Monday jointly unveiled a battery swap strategy for commercial vehicles, the first of its kind, according to a SAIC-GM-Wuling announcement last night.
CATL's Choco-SEB (swapping electric block) battery swap solution will be used for the first time in the logistics vehicle scenario, according to the announcement.
The two companies will work together to create cheaper, faster and safer battery swap-enabled vehicles to meet users' needs for fast energy replenishment of commercial vehicles, SAIC-GM-Wuling said.
This will help to significantly improve the operational efficiency and economic returns of the vehicles and provide strong support to every business startup, the carmaker said.
SAIC-GM-Wuling is a joint venture between SAIC Group, General Motors and Liuzhou Wuling Motors, based in Liuzhou city, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in southwest China.
This is going to be the first time CATL's battery swap solution will be used in a logistics vehicle, after it has been previously used in shared mobility vehicles.
The power battery giant launched its battery swap brand EVOGO on January 18, 2022, and has begun to push forward with the construction of battery swap stations, becoming another major player in the space after Nio (NYSE: NIO).
EVOGO's batteries are called Choco-SEB, and the vehicles can use one or more batteries to match different mileage needs.
The first vehicle to support EVOGO's battery swap service is the NAT (Next Automatic Taxi) model from Bestune, a brand of China FAW, which is aimed at the shared mobility market.
On June 12, 2023, CATL announced a battery swap solution for heavy trucks called Qiji Energy, which, similar to EVOGO's Choco-SEB, also supports flexible use of the number of batteries in a vehicle.
CATL has built a number of battery swap stations over the past two years, and EVOGO's service is already available in cities including Xiamen, Fuzhou, Guiyang and Hefei.
In the short term, CATL aims to have more than 500 battery swap stations by 2025 and 3,000 by 2027, Gao Huan, the battery maker's chief technology officer, said at the 2024 World Power Battery Conference, held September 1 in Yibin, Sichuan province in southwest China on September 1.
CATL's long-term goal is to build 10,000 battery swap stations, according to Gao.
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