CATL, China’s largest EV battery maker, launches EVOGO battery-swapping service
- EVOGO, offered via a mobile app, will allow users to change their depleted car batteries at swap stations, CATL said
- The battery-swap service will be launched in 10 mainland cities initially
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co (CATL), China’s biggest producer of electric-car batteries, has launched a battery-swapping service called EVOGO to tap into the rapid growth of new energy vehicles on the mainland.
EVOGO’s services, offered via a mobile app, will allow users to change their depleted car batteries at swap stations, instead of waiting for it to recharge, CATL said during an online event to announce the launch on Tuesday.
“The company will launch the services in 10 cities in mainland China,” said Chen Weifeng, general manager of CATL subsidiary Contemporary Amperex Energy Service Technology, which focuses on mobile power solutions. However, he did not elaborate further.
Electric-car makers like NIO and battery makers like CATL are increasingly launching battery swap services in a bid to lower prices for EV buyers in China and ease driving range anxiety.
Sales of so-called new energy vehicles (NEVs) hit a record 2.99 million units in 2021, or 14.8 per cent of overall sales in China, the world’s largest car market, according to data compiled by the China Passenger Car Association.
Three in five new cars sold in China are likely to be powered by electricity instead of fossil fuel by 2030, according to UBS. The Chinese government, however, is eyeing a 20 per cent penetration rate by 2025.