Hongqi adopts CATL’s battery swap technology

FAW Group's brand Hongqi is the latest automaker to join CATL's Choco-SEB battery swapping programme.

Just last month, Changan Automobile announced a similar partnership with CATL, and unveiled the battery swap-enabled Oshan 520 electric sedan. Now, Hongqi is following suit.

CATL's Choco-SEB (SEB stands for "swapping electric block") technology allows EV owners to quickly swap empty batteries for fully charged ones at designated stations, eliminating the lengthy charging times associated with conventional methods. Somewhat confusingly, the brand operating the technology is Evogo and the entity operating the brand is called CAES.

Hongqi's adoption of the Choco-SEB system is a big step towards promoting the technology's widespread use. The collaboration goes beyond the technology itself. The two companies will also work together on services and battery asset operations, creating a comprehensive ecosystem for battery management.

Hongqi's decision to embrace battery swapping technology is no surprise. In November 2021, Hongqi delivered 100 E-QM5 models, its first battery swap-enabled models, to taxi industry partners in Changchun.

On a side note, Hongqi has filed with the MIIT for battery swap-enabled models for its EH7 and EHS7 electric vehicles. These models are expected to use lithium iron phosphate batteries supplied by BYD's battery division, FinDreams Battery.

The growing interest in battery swapping tech among Chinese automakers is clear as daylight. The pioneer of battery-swap technology, Nio, announced in May a partnership with China FAW to collaborate on the development of battery-swap-enabled models. Battery swapping is quickly emerging as a viable solution to address concerns about charging times and infrastructure limitations.

Via