In Depth: Why CATL Is So Revved Up About Battery Swapping Stations

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) (300750.SZ) has made it clear that it’s going big on battery swapping stations.

In December, CATL’s billionaire founder and chairman, Zeng Yuqun, announced the electric vehicle (EV) battery-maker’s plan to set up 1,000 swapping stations across China by the end of this year as the next step toward its goal of building 30,000 nationwide. The stations give drivers an efficient way to “fill up” their EVs by swapping a depleted battery with a fully charged one in a matter of minutes.