CATL has added a two-battery range-extension package for heavy-duty trucks to its freight-electrification portfolio, matching a chassis-mounted pack that can be swapped at Qiji stations with a separate 77-kWh unit carried behind the cab. The system, presented in Beijing on Tuesday, was announced alongside Qiji upgrades intended to cut fleets’ costs for energy replenishment and batteries, according to the world’s largest EV battery maker.
The backup pack, which supports 3C charging, is designed to solve a familiar operating trade-off. Battery-swap truck drivers often head back to a station with around 30% charge still left so they do not risk running dry on the road, CATL said, leaving unused capacity in the battery they lease. With the on-board unit, the main pack’s depth of discharge can move from roughly 70% to over 95%, letting a truck reach a swap station with under 5% remaining in the main battery.
Power can be shifted to the range extender in milliseconds, CATL said, keeping the vehicle powered without interruption and adding redundancy in tough operating conditions. The “1+X” design keeps the main battery standardized so it remains compatible with the Qiji swap network, while the range extender can be tailored for low-temperature performance, high energy density or high power. The two packs can be upgraded separately: the range extender stays with the truck as an on-board asset, and the main battery can be leased flexibly in line with seasonal freight demand, helping fleets lower rental costs when business is slow.
Qiji’s lineup is also expanding. CATL introduced 260# and 300# standardized swappable batteries, rated at 432 kWh and 513 kWh, respectively, alongside the existing 75# pack. A new-generation Qiji station can swap a battery in five minutes, cuts construction costs by 10%, needs no excavation pit and can be deployed in as little as five days, the company said.
On the commercial side, CATL has revised its battery-as-a-service (BaaS) billing so customers pay for net energy charged rather than energy discharged, preserving the benefit of regenerative braking. For users on basic plans, the change can lower per-kWh battery rental costs by up to 20%, CATL said, improving the economics of electric heavy-duty truck operations.
The company aims to have 900 heavy-duty truck battery-swap stations running by the end of 2026 and 2,000 by 2027, with a longer-term target of 10,000 stations across China together with partners. At the event, agreements covering 13,000 vehicles were signed, including battery-swapping orders from major logistics players such as SF Holding and China Postal Express & Logistics.
The launch comes as NEV penetration climbs quickly in China’s heavy-duty truck segment. New energy heavy-duty trucks made up 50% of the market in September, compared with 29% a year earlier, according to CPCA analysis of compulsory traffic insurance data.
CATL’s Qiji Energy heavy-duty truck battery-swapping solution was launched in June 2023, and the 75# standardized swappable truck battery followed in May 2025. On June 30 this year, CATL signed a strategic cooperation agreement with J&T Express to supply swappable batteries, swap-station equipment and operation and maintenance services for more than 5,000 heavy-duty trucks.
CATL also showed truck batteries for other transport uses, including ultra-light and ultra-thin packs mounted behind the cab and chassis-mounted batteries for short-haul and long-haul operations.
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