Huawei's Car Unit Joins CATL's 2,520-Station Battery Swap Network

Huawei owns 80% of Yinwang, with Seres and Changan's Avatr holding 10% each. Seres builds the AITO brand, and several other Chinese carmakers buy Qiankun systems, so the deal could reach beyond one manufacturer. Existing Choco partners include GAC, BAIC and NIO.

• Network: 2,520 Choco-swap stations in about 200 cities (Sept. 29, 2026)
• Growth: 1,020 stations at the end of 2025; past 2,000 in early July 2026
• Build rate: more than 200 new stations a month
• Targets: more than 3,000 by end-2026 and 30,000 in the long term
• Swap time: 99 seconds (CATL figure)
• Huawei stake in Yinwang: 80%

For scale, NIO, which built the first large swap network for its own cars, had 3,790 stations when it logged its 100 millionth swap in February. CATL's network is smaller but open to several carmakers and built around standardized packs.

Voltgrid Analysis: Infrastructure Implications

Our read: battery swapping has failed before when it depended on one brand or one startup. Better Place went bankrupt in 2013 after raising about $850 million, and Tesla's 2013 swap pilot faded. CATL's difference is scale on the supply side: as the dominant cell maker, it can offer a standard pack that several carmakers adopt.

Huawei adds the software half. A car that drives itself into a station takes the human step out of swapping, which matters most for robotaxis and commercial fleets. Our inference: that is the market this deal targets first, since most private owners charge at home.

For grid planners, swap stations are also storage. Each site keeps charged packs on hand and can choose when to recharge them. Neither company has said whether Choco stations will offer grid services. For context on stationary storage, see September's 20.4 GWh of grid battery installs.

Voltgrid Verdict

Looking Ahead

The next markers are named vehicles and a launch date from Yinwang, and whether CATL reaches its 3,000-station goal by year-end. CATL is also pushing swapping for heavy trucks, including a joint venture with Octopus Energy for the UK and Europe.

Source: Electrek, citing Reuters.