CATL is ramping up its push into the electric-truck market, unveiling a new lineup of battery upgrades and expanding its network of swap stations as the Chinese battery giant looks to challenge diesel’s dominance in freight hauling.
At an event in Beijing, the company introduced a dual-electric range extension system for heavy-duty trucks that pairs a swappable main battery with an independent onboard backup pack, allowing the primary battery to discharge down to just 5% without triggering the range anxiety that has held back electric-truck adoption.
Combined with a battery swap that CATL says takes just five minutes, the system is designed to let electric trucks match the operational efficiency of diesel vehicles while lowering their total cost of ownership for logistics operators.
CATL said it has already secured orders covering 13,000 swap-compatible units from major logistics players including SF Holding and China Postal Express & Logistics, signaling early commercial traction for the technology among large-scale freight operators.
The company plans to expand its battery swap station network to 900 locations by the end of 2026 and to 2,000 by 2027, with a longer-term ambition of deploying 10,000 stations across China in partnership with other firms.
The push reflects CATL's broader strategy of using swap infrastructure, rather than faster charging alone, to solve the downtime problem that has made electrification a harder sell for commercial trucking fleets than for passenger vehicles.
