CATL's Chocolate Battery Swap Network Hits 2,520 Stations Across 200 Cities

CATL has announced that its Chocolate battery-swap platform has reached a major milestone: over 2,520 stations now operate across 200 cities in 31 provinces. As of September 29, nearly 20,000 brand-new CATL batteries have been entered into service, while the company simultaneously launched a free swap promotion running from September 30 through October 7 to coincide with China's National Day holiday.

The latest station to come online is the Lanzhou Chengguan North Binhe East Road site. With this addition, Chocolate's network now covers all tier-one and tier-two Chinese cities, while stations in smaller cities account for more than 80 percent of the total. In over a quarter of the cities where Chocolate operates, its station density ranks first in the industry.

Highway Network Expansion Planned

Beyond urban coverage, CATL is pushing into highway corridors. The company plans to build 1,000 expressway swap stations by 2027, forming a "11 vertical, 9 horizontal" national backbone network along 20 major trunk highways. The target is one pair of swap stations approximately every 100 kilometers, with urban and highway stations linked to ease cross-city travel for NEV owners.

Open Standard, Multi-Brand Access

Chocolate positions itself as an open, standardized swap platform rather than a proprietary system. Vehicles from multiple brands and models can access the network, and users can locate nearby stations through the Chocolate battery-swap app. A full automated swap takes 99 seconds with the driver remaining seated.

Since the new-battery rollout began in the second quarter, the nearly 20,000 batteries now in circulation represent a significant upgrade over older inventory. CATL says the combination of high station density and fresh batteries elevates the swap experience from speed alone to a balance of speed, reliability, and cell health.

Digital Monitoring Across Battery Lifecycle

All batteries entering the Chocolate network are managed under CATL's battery asset management system, which applies full-lifecycle digital tracking. Health status is monitorable and traceable from production through deployment. Digital-twin intelligent monitoring technology performs automated checks before each battery enters service, ensuring consistent swap-quality cells.

During the holiday promotion window, the Chocolate network covers many popular travel destinations across the Greater Bay Area, Yangtze River Delta, Hainan Ring Road, and Sichuan-Chongqing region — routes that see heavy EV road-trip traffic in China.