Changan said its Oshan 520, built on CATL's battery swap solution, will bring a new experience to the shared mobility market.
Chinese auto giant Changan Automobile filed for a battery swap-enabled electric sedan last month, and CnEVPost noted at the time that the model was unlikely to come from Nio's (NYSE: NIO) battery swap alliance, despite the two having a partnership.
Now, the carmaker has released official information that clears things up -- the model is a joint effort between Changan and power battery giant CATL to build for the ride hailing market.
On November 22, Changan, CATL, and CATL subsidiary Contemporary Amperex Energy Service Technology (CAES) held a signing ceremony in Chongqing for a partnership on a battery swap project, Changan announced today.
At the event, Changan showcased the battery swap-enabled Oshan 520 electric sedan from its sub-brand Oshan, which it said could bring a new experience to ride-sharing operators by providing access to a fully-charged battery with a range of 500 kilometers in less than two minutes.
The Oshan 520 is based on CATL's Choco-SEB (swapping electric block) battery swap solution, which saves owners more than two hours of charging time per day, Changan said.
At the same time, battery swap support allows customers to reduce the initial purchase cost of a car by 35 percent and insurance costs by more than 10 percent, Changan said, adding that the savings over a six-year period would be enough to buy a new car.
With the addition of CATL's Choco-SEB battery swap stations, the operational efficiency of EVs will be significantly improved, providing strong support for fleet operators to achieve larger scale operations, Changan said.
Changan said it also held a signing ceremony for intended orders with cab business partners at the event, without disclosing the number of orders.
CATL launched its battery swap brand EVOGO on January 18, 2022, and has started to promote the construction of battery swap stations, becoming another major player in the field after Nio.
EVOGO's batteries are called Choco-SEB, and the vehicles can use one or more batteries to match different mileage requirements.
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.
The battery swap-enabled Oshan 520 entered a regulatory filing catalog on October 15, prompting some speculation at the time as to whether the model was part of Nio's battery swap alliance.
Changan and Nio entered into a partnership on battery swap in November 2023, becoming the first carmaker to do so. But as of now, there is no timeline on the models that the two will jointly build.
CATL seems to be accelerating its efforts to win backers for its battery swap system, despite targeting the commercial vehicle and shared mobility markets so far.
On November 19, SAIC-GM-Wuling entered into a partnership with CATL to use the battery maker's Choco-SEB battery swap solution for the logistics vehicle segment.
Most of Nio swap stations in Shanghai deliver over 100 services per day, says CFO
