China’s battery swap push gained another major backer this week. Yinwang, the Huawei-controlled automotive unit also known as Newcool, signed a strategic cooperation framework with CATL and its swap subsidiary CAES on Monday, according to a statement reported by Reuters via Electrek. The deal covers standardized Choco battery packs and CATL’s network of 2,520 stations across roughly 200 Chinese cities, with an initial focus on vehicles running Huawei’s Qiankun smart-driving systems. CATL envisions a fully automated process in which the car calculates when it needs energy and drives itself into a station, with the swap itself quoted at 99 seconds. The announcement left out vehicle models, service areas and a launch date, making it a framework agreement rather than a firm product plan. Huawei owns 80% of Yinwang, with Seres and Changan’s Avatr holding 10% each.
CATL entered swapping in 2022 with EVOGO and relaunched it as Choco-swap at the end of 2024. Growth since then has been rapid: the network ended 2025 with 1,020 stations, passed 2,000 at the start of July and reached 2,520 by September 29. CATL is building more than 200 stations a month and says it is targeting more than 3,000 by the end of the year and 30,000 long term. Existing Choco partners include GAC, BAIC and NIO, with a separate push into heavy-truck swapping including a UK/Europe joint venture with Octopus Energy.
Huawei’s involvement is notable partly because it deepens CATL’s standard-setting position; CATL supplies roughly 40% of global EV battery cells, giving its pack standard weight with automakers. Electrek, the sole source for this report, remains skeptical of swapping replacing home charging or fast charging, and it notes that NIO’s comparable network of 3,790 stations has made one-brand swapping work. But the piece concludes that in China, swapping increasingly looks like a permanent complement to charging rather than a gimmick.