On December 18, Financial Associated Press reported (reporter Zeng Chuchu) that Contemporary Amperex Technology (300750.SZ) is increasing its battery swapping layout, and Zeng Yuqun personally announced the initiation of the chocolate battery swapping ecosystem.

Contemporary Amperex Technology held the chocolate battery swapping ecological conference today, announcing a new battery swapping plan. Notably, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Contemporary Amperex Technology, Zeng Yuqun, rarely attended a promotional event for the company and spoke; previously, he seldom attended significant product and brand events like the release of the Lightning Super Charging Battery and commercial battery.

"Battery swapping is a capital-intensive, high-investment, and long-cycle industry that involves many stakeholders, and the chain is complex." Zeng Yuqun mentioned this at the start of the conference.

Why did Contemporary Amperex Technology choose battery swapping? In response, Zeng Yuqun indicated that battery swapping is a composite innovation, a reconstruction of new energy scenarios based on user requirements, and a key that provides every consumer with a more convenient, economical, safe, and eco-friendly travel option. Based on market demands, it is determined that by 2030, battery swapping, home charging, and public charging will divide the market into three parts.

Regarding the chocolate battery swapping ecosystem, Contemporary Amperex Technology announced two standard battery packs, named 20# and 25#, and disclosed the subscription fee for the lithium iron phosphate standard battery swapping pack: the 25# battery's travel package is 599 yuan/month, and the home package is 499 yuan/month; the 20# battery's travel package is 469 yuan/month, and the home package is 369 yuan/month. Zeng Yuqun also committed that all future battery technologies from Contemporary Amperex Technology will be applied to the chocolate battery-swapped vehicles.

Contemporary Amperex Technology plans to build 1,000 chocolate battery swapping stations by 2025, while also entering Hong Kong and Macau; in the planning stage, the company aims to collaborate with various partners to construct 0.01 million stations; as the battery swapping ecosystem grows, the final scale of chocolate battery swapping stations will reach 0.03 million.

Contemporary Amperex Technology has already cooperated with Changan, GAC, BAIC, Wuling, and FAW to jointly launch 10 battery swapping models. It is reported that the ten models will be gradually launched starting from the end of this year, and each subsequent quarter will see new models introduced to the market.

Cao Yuqun stated: "Today we are about to launch the next generation of chocolate solutions and will collaborate with a wide range of ecological partners to initiate the chocolate battery-swapping ecosystem. We are willing to provide the highest quality Batteries and use better resources to improve our station and network Infrastructure."

In the battery-swapping field, NIO is a representative automaker laying out the battery-swapping station Infrastructure. By comparison, NIO currently offers a Battery as a Service (BaaS) program with a service fee of 728 yuan per month for a 75 kWh Battery. According to NIO's official website, BaaS currently features a promotion of renting 3 Batteries and getting 1 free, which translates to 546 yuan per month. After December, it will return to 728 yuan per month. A NIO sales representative informed Caixin that the Battery rental price will only decrease, not increase.

As of December 16 this year, NIO has built 2,800 battery-swapping stations. NIO Chairman Li Bin revealed that by the end of 2025, NIO will have built more than 5,000 battery-swapping stations cumulatively.

It is understood that the battery-swapping model quickly replaces the power Batteries of new energy vehicles using mechanical means for refueling. Compared to the charging model, its advantages include higher efficiency, with refueling typically completed in 5 minutes.

On January 18, 2021, Contemporary Amperex Technology established a subsidiary, Times Electric Service, officially entering the battery-swapping sector. It launched the battery-swapping service brand EVOGO and a combination battery-swapping overall solution, consisting of three major products: "chocolate battery-swapping block, quick swap station, APP." In 2023, Contemporary Amperex Technology also launched the Qiji battery-swapping solution targeting electric heavy trucks, which features a larger single Cell capacity.