Providing automakers and users with a ready-made network, rather than investing on demand. By Li Zinan. "Last year when I said I wanted to build 1000 stations, everyone said I was boasting. This year when I say I want to build 2000 stations, they ask if I'm really going to do it," Deng Xu, Vice President of CATL's EVOGO service, told LatePost in January. Before CATL decided to build its battery swap network at the end of 2024, there was widespread skepticism about the swap model and its modular "Chocolate" battery packs—swapping is capital-intensive with a long payback period, and CATL doesn't manufacture vehicles, so it couldn't promote vehicle integration as decisively as NIO. Furthermore, a significant portion of EV owners were inherently skeptical of battery swapping itself. Deng Xu describes the progress of Chocolate battery swap in 2025 as a process of building and transmitting confidence. Robin Zeng recognized the potential of battery swapping four years ago, believing that EV range anxiety would ultimately be solved by swapping and ultra-fast charging. The swap model could decouple battery costs, allowing consumers to get a faster, better refueling experience at a lower cost. CATL spent several years investing in exploration, first convincing some automakers, then more automakers and energy service providers, and finally, car owners. The speed of building swap stations is the most direct way for EVOGO to demonstrate its determination and capability. Deng Xu revealed that in August last year, when EVOGO reached 500 stations, major automakers began proactively seeking cooperation. This was a critical turning point for EVOGO; its growing swap network became a bargaining chip, and the reasons for automakers to adopt Chocolate swap began to outweigh their reservations. In January this year, Robin Zeng had already set a target for EVOGO: 2000 stations by 2026. This wasn't an arbitrary number; EVOGO sees it as the true inflection point for its business development. Based on this calculation, by the end of this year, the Chocolate swap network is poised to surpass NIO's, becoming the densest swap network in major Chinese urban areas, capable of handling significantly greater demand.
Building stations is only one part of scaling the swap business. EVOGO clearly understands that the essence of the swap business lies in its ability to provide refueling and other related services with higher efficiency. The real challenge is how to establish indispensable value throughout the lifecycle of a new energy vehicle, thereby winning more trust from automakers and owners. In January, LatePost interviewed several EVOGO executives. They reviewed the past year and explained the company's plans moving forward. This is a business with a clear roadmap, great potential, but also significant challenges.
Providing automakers and users with a ready-made network, rather than investing on demand. Before launching the second-generation Chocolate battery swap in late 2024, EVOGO recalibrated its development pace, shifting from following vehicle deployment to building stations at scale first. This reflects a more fundamental change in strategy. The previous logic of investing on demand seemed rational: build stations based on the number of vehicles, ensuring high utilization per station and a better-looking financial model. However, it led to another outcome: stations were never dense enough. Insufficient density failed to attract users, low user numbers kept utilization down, and low utilization discouraged further station construction—trapping the business in a hard-to-escape cycle. At the end of 2024, Qu Guojun, EVOGO's Energy Development Director, was tasked with building 1000 swap stations within a year. At that time, no one in the industry had achieved such a rollout pace. NIO, with years of experience, took four and a half years to go from 0 to 1000 stations; even at its peak construction period, building 1000 stations took at least 15 months. By the end of December 2025, EVOGO had built its 1000th station in Nanchang, Jiangxi. Building swap stations is different from manufacturing batteries, involving land, grid connection, quality, and safety. Qu Guojun's team had to build infrastructure capabilities almost from scratch. Before May last year, EVOGO had only built just over 100 stations nationwide. Qu used these five months to train his team and refine the optimal methodology. The process from site selection to civil works, supplier installation, and final inspection initially took nearly three months; after process optimization, it was reduced to just 16 days. The optimization process involved constant trial and error. Qu Guojun said the initial station design required foundations dug 2.7 meters deep. This significantly extended construction time, and in places like Jiangsu and Xi'an, digging that deep risked hitting groundwater or archaeological sites. The R&D team later revised the design, optimizing the foundation depth to 0.8 meters. Efficiency in site selection and quality verification also improved. After June, EVOGO's construction pace accelerated dramatically; of the 1000+ stations built last year, over 800 were constructed in the latter six months. "My blood pressure, lipids, and blood sugar levels all raised red flags," Qu Guojun said, emphasizing that building swap stations must be a blitzkrieg, not a protracted war, making everyone feel CATL's determination and the stakes it has put on the table.
EVOGO's changed rhythm quickly received positive feedback. Deng Xu revealed that in August last year, after EVOGO built its 500th station, automakers' attitudes began to shift. The growing swap network became a bargaining chip; the reasons for automakers to adopt Chocolate swap started to outweigh their concerns—their models could integrate into a mature, rapidly expanding network at low cost, offering users diverse usage and purchasing options. While expanding, the Chocolate swap business model was also being validated and optimized. Around mid-last year, EVOGO established its first dense urban swap network in Chongqing. Before entering Chongqing, Deng Xu made an internal bet with colleagues: out of 5000 ride-hailing vehicles in the city, how many could Chocolate swap capture? Some said 4000, but most thought that was crazy. Deng's judgment was: either below 2000, or above 4000. "Battery swapping isn't a linear business. When density is insufficient, no one dares to use it. Once density crosses a threshold, scale effects suddenly explode," he said. The result EVOGO delivered in Chongqing was 5500 vehicles. Because density was achieved and the experience improved, some users even proactively replaced their vehicles ahead of schedule. In central Chongqing, once stations achieved "10-minute access" grid coverage, swap data for private cars also climbed. According to EVOGO, peak daily energy swapped at Chocolate stations in Chongqing now reaches 10,000 kWh, comfortably surpassing the break-even point of 5500 kWh per day. In January, Robin Zeng set the target of 2000 stations for EVOGO within a year—a decision not made lightly. Based on this, by year-end, the Chocolate swap network will surpass NIO's to become the densest in China's major cities. Deng Xu said that after the network is built, negotiations with automakers shift from concerns to discussing details.
The swap network is just the foundation; team and organizational capabilities determine whether swapping can be done well. Building stations is "building the road"; getting more vehicles on that road is the bigger test. This challenge arrived sooner than EVOGO anticipated. Last November, the Aion UT Super, a collaborative "People's Car" project between EVOGO, GAC, and JD.com, began sales on JD's platform. The battery-rental version of the Aion UT Super is priced at just 49,900 yuan, currently the only sub-100,000 yuan model supporting battery swaps. These three companies with vastly different backgrounds completed a commercial loop in just two to three months that the auto industry had struggled to achieve for years. JD.com leveraged its high-value user base and traffic to market GAC's swappable model (UT Super). "JD wanted to test if online car sales could work, GAC wanted to test if it could ignite its brand with low fees, and we wanted to test if BaaS (Battery-as-a-Service) could work," said Guo Qi, EVOGO's Battery Asset Management Head. To date, Aion UT Super sales have exceeded all three parties' expectations, with over 95% of users opting for the battery rental plan, far surpassing NIO (around 70%). However, EVOGO, JD.com, and GAC were initially unprepared for the surge in traffic. Shortly after the UT Super launched, user queries arose due to promotional materials, among other reasons. EVOGO, JD.com, and GAC held a meeting in early December to address the concerns. This incident caused anxiety at EVOGO, making them realize that if services couldn't match surging demand, the swap and BaaS models could backfire. For instance, regarding the BaaS model, EVOGO was still grappling in January with how to explain the complex rental process simply. Guo Qi said early battery rental rules were three pages long, as complicated as selling insurance. For the GAC project, he pushed the team to compress it to one page. But he remained anxious: how much simpler could it get for a 4S店 salesperson to understand and explain clearly to users? Furthermore, swapping is asset-heavy, batteries are high-value assets, and each simplification step might inadvertently reduce risk controls. Their task is to find a balance between feasibility and risk.
Beyond details, Deng Xu's current worry isn't a lack of partners, but that "the team might be overwhelmed." We understand that EVOGO has finalized cooperation on swappable models with several major automakers, with plans likely announced in the first half of this year. CATL's goal this year is to equip around 200,000 vehicles with Chocolate swap capability. This means serving dozens of models simultaneously. Deng Xu provided figures: currently about 5 models for B2B, and nearly 20 for B2C. The launch of each model entails an extremely繁琐 adaptation and GTM (Go-To-Market) process. Currently, just the cooperation with GAC requires deploying one-third of EVOGO's service team. Additionally, more automakers are attracted to Chocolate swap's battery rental sales model. In the current economic downturn, users hesitate to spend heavily on assets like batteries, which are volatile in value and prone to degradation. "Separating the battery essentially splits the large 'car purchase' expense," Guo Qi said. Removing the battery directly lowers the vehicle price, leaving users to pay only a few hundred yuan monthly rent. In a cycle of declining asset values, this logic of breaking a large transaction into manageable smaller ones aligns better with user risk aversion. Under this model, automakers can lower the purchase barrier without sacrificing gross margin.
As more models launch, automakers' focus is also shifting. Initially, the debate was "can standardization be accepted?" Each automaker wanted its own standard; their concept of Chocolate batteries was vague, and negotiations felt like "transactions." But now, most automakers can readily name the 20# and 25# Chocolate batteries; they are accepting the standard and starting to scrutinize details—so deeply that Deng Xu says, "The questions from automakers' product managers are basically unanswerable by my team." Questions might cover battery adaptability, user experience boundaries, transaction structure design, or even online-offline coordination and in-store sales processes. Models equipped with the 25# battery are currently undergoing swapping. Deng Xu revealed that EVOGO is still building deeper service capabilities, such as having its team participate in the design phase of swappable models. GAC Group has now entered a full-platform cooperation with Chocolate swap, planning more swappable models in the future. How deeply EVOGO participates presents many challenges for the team. Yang Jun, General Manager of CATL's Swap Business and CEO of EVOGO, recently stated that no vehicle is currently designed specifically for swapping; many are modified from existing charging-based designs. Dedicated swappable models might emerge in late 2026 or early 2027. He revealed that besides GAC, Chery will also integrate Chocolate batteries into its new vehicle platform.
The first principle of battery swapping is efficiency and certainty. Building the network and attracting automakers are prerequisites, but ultimately, closing the business loop requires convincing users. EVOGO's goal is to provide users with certainty. In traditional car purchases, many users don't know the origin of their battery; sometimes, even different batches at the same price point vary. What Chocolate swap aims to do is eliminate uncertainty: the CATL brand is visible, battery performance is visible, pricing is clear, and battery separation is explicit. What you buy, what you use, and who to contact if problems arise are all clear. Deconstructing this goal reveals three foundational experiences that determine the viability of the swap business: safety, convenience, and economy. For swapping, "safety" isn't just battery safety but system safety: battery quality consistency, mechanical and electrical safety during swapping, station operational safety protocols, and liability boundaries all determine user willingness. CATL's brand endorsement as the battery leader is the starting point for Chocolate swap's rapid market entry—especially when users inherently question battery origin, degradation, and after-sales liability, CATL assuming responsibility provides the primary perceived certainty. To enhance certainty, CATL now also uses Chocolate swap as the launch platform for its latest battery tech, such as incorporating the latest sodium-ion batteries. But brand endorsement doesn't work automatically. It must be continuously reinforced through station operations, incident control, and service experience. A serious incident could turn the brand advantage into a liability. EVOGO's early philosophy of prioritizing solid foundations over speed stems from this understanding of risk.
Convenience and efficiency come from network density. When the network is dense enough, swapping transforms from a chore requiring planning into something as effortless as refueling. And when swapping no longer imposes extra costs (time, route, psychological) on users, it can evolve from a niche feature into a scalable service. However, the convenience Chocolate swap pursues doesn't mean forced swapping. They aim for a scenario where, when station density reaches a certain level, users can choose either charging or swapping—swapping offers a more convenient option, not locking users in. The power of choice itself is a form of experiential certainty. In recent years, refueling paths were often simplified into a binary "charging VS swapping" opposition. Swapping was once highly anticipated, then questioned as unviable. EVOGO's narrative isn't about "stealing" users from charging, but making swapping a more efficient, certain option in high-frequency scenarios. Yang Jun also shared a perspective: EV adoption is certain, but the refueling experience hasn't improved with the growing EV population. As vehicles increase, the refueling experience hasn't gotten better. This makes the swap model increasingly necessary.
Economy and efficiency ultimately determine if swapping can become a viable, closed-loop business. EVOGO now has a clear roadmap: Phase 1: Spend a few years establishing the infrastructure—build the stations, create density, and show automakers and users the certainty. Phase 2: Spend a few years increasing station utilization—boost swap frequency through more vehicles and users, transitioning the business from heavy capital investment to an efficiency scaling phase. Phase 3: Explore ecosystem extensions—finance, insurance, advertising, more services, and franchising—allowing platform capabilities to溢出 (overflow), evolving swapping from a refueling service into a more comprehensive new energy ecosystem. On this roadmap, Robin Zeng's short-term goal for EVOGO isn't 2000 stations, but building to 5000 stations. 5000 stations represent a clearer watershed: by then, the network would be formed, infrastructure mature, batteries could be iterated, services layered, and EVOGO's platform capabilities could truly溢出 (overflow). Then, the option to charge or swap could potentially become standard for new energy vehicles. But this path isn't easy. More stations mean higher organizational complexity; more partner automakers require more standardized, productized rules and services; a larger user base amplifies the impact of any fluctuations in safety, experience, or price. Fortunately, policy and industry trends are moving in a direction favorable to swapping. Professor Hu Zechun from Tsinghua University's Department of Electrical Engineering recently stated that national policy is highly supportive of battery swapping, aiming to promote deep integration with the power grid for more efficient electricity dispatch, allowing batteries in swap stations to act as reservoirs—storing grid power and feeding it back, enabling bidirectional interaction with the grid. Battery swapping isn't a business that runs on storytelling alone. It relies on trust built over the long term. Therefore, the most important thing EVOGO demonstrated to the market in 2025 through 1000 stations wasn't just its willingness to bet on swapping, but its capability to make it work.
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