Huawei's Avatr Joins CATL's Battery Swap Network for Autonomous Swaps
Translated & summarized from 0404 by baba
Huawei's Avatr smart car company has partnered with CATL and its battery swap network to enable autonomous battery replacements. Vehicles with Huawei's driving systems will drive themselves to CATL stations for a 99-second swap. While specific models and launch dates are pending, CATL operates over 2,500 stations in China with ambitious expansion plans. This initiative revives the battery swap concept, now integrated with autonomous vehicle technology.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Huawei's Avatr will integrate with CATL's battery swap network for autonomous vehicle battery changes.
- Vehicles will autonomously drive to stations, undergo a 99-second swap, and then drive away.
- CATL operates over 2,500 battery swap stations in China and plans significant expansion.
- The partnership aims to create a unified network connecting vehicles, stations, and cloud systems.
- The battery swap concept, previously tried in Israel, is gaining traction in China with new technology.
Huawei's smart car company, Avatr, has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with CATL, the world's largest battery manufacturer, and its subsidiary operating the battery swap network. Under the deal, vehicles equipped with Huawei's Qiankun intelligent driving systems will gradually connect to CATL's Choco-swap station network. The collaboration aims to integrate vehicles, stations, and cloud systems into a unified network that monitors battery status and driving habits to predict and schedule battery replacements. In a described scenario, a vehicle will autonomously determine the need for a battery swap, locate a station, drive itself in, position itself, and undergo an automated swap lasting 99 seconds before driving away independently.
Details regarding specific models, service launch dates, and operational regions were not disclosed, as this is a framework agreement with practical aspects yet to be finalized. As of the end of September, CATL had established 2,520 swap stations in approximately 200 Chinese cities, with plans to expand to 30,000 stations long-term and an additional thousand along highways in 2026 and 2027. Huawei's Avatr joins existing CATL partnerships with manufacturers like GAC, BAIC, and NIO, the latter operating its own extensive swap network.
Avatr, spun off from Huawei's automotive division in early 2024, is 80% owned by Huawei, with Chery and Changan's electric subsidiary Avatr each holding 10%. Avatr's intelligent driving systems are currently installed in models from several Chinese automakers. The concept of battery swapping, previously attempted in Israel by Better Place before its closure in 2013, is seeing a resurgence in China, enhanced by autonomous driving capabilities.