The car rental industry welcomes a "big player," as CATL joins forces with three partners to jointly build a battery-swapping ecosystem.

On August 4, CATL announced that it recently signed strategic cooperation agreements with Times Electric Service, Shenzhou Car Rental, and Zhaoyin Financial Leasing. The companies plan to roll out the battery-swapping model on a large scale in the car rental industry, aiming to introduce over 100,000 battery-swapping vehicles by 2025. These vehicles will cater to diverse needs, including both short-term and long-term rentals, corporate fleet management, and ride-hailing services.
This marks another collaboration for CATL in the car rental sector, following its partnerships with Hello and T3. CATL Chairman and CEO Zeng Yuqun, CATL Market System Co-President Han Wei, Shenzhou Car Rental Chairman Yu Hongfei, and China Merchants Bank Head Office President Wang Liang jointly witnessed the signing ceremony.

The agreement reveals that CATL, together with Times Electric Service, Car Inc., and Zhaoyin Financial Leasing, will collaborate closely across energy replenishment, asset management, financial support, and vehicle-use services to deliver sustainable energy solutions, jointly building a comprehensive ecosystem in the mobility sector. Specifically, Car Inc. will fully roll out CATL’s Chocolate battery-swap vehicles, covering a wide range of models—from economy to comfort and business classes—and catering to the mainstream A0-to-B segments. By 2025, Car Inc. plans to launch a pilot program and gradually operate over 100,000 battery-swap-enabled vehicles. CATL also announced that the vehicles introduced through Car Inc.’s pilot program will be equipped with CATL’s standardized Chocolate 20# and 25# battery-swapping modules, offering a driving range of 400 to 600 kilometers while supporting flexible energy refueling options. This will effectively meet diverse needs, including short-term and long-term rentals, corporate fleet management, and ride-hailing services.
In response to the ride-hailing scenario, Shenzhou Car Rental will scale up its procurement of chocolate battery-swap vehicles, focusing on deploying them in first- and new first-tier cities. Meanwhile, Times Electric Service will collaborate to build a battery health monitoring platform, ensuring real-time battery safety and consistent range stability. According to the company’s official website, Shenzhou Car Rental is a mobility service provider offering car rental and fleet leasing services to both individual and corporate clients. Among its innovative initiatives are contactless self-service vehicle pick-up and return throughout the entire rental process, a no-staff-service-point model, and an AI-powered operations app. One ride-hailing driver commented, "If it truly takes just 3 minutes to swap batteries and get back on the road, the efficiency would be even more appealing than refueling with gas or gas stations."

Additionally, to reduce vehicle leasing costs and enhance operational efficiency, Zhaoyin Financial Leasing and Times Electric Service will provide competitively priced battery leasing solutions for Shenzhou Car Rental's self-operated fleet. According to the agreement, the four parties involved will also establish a dedicated task force to collaborate with automakers in optimizing costs across various stages—including vehicle procurement, financial services, insurance, and used-car management—thereby boosting the overall lifecycle competitiveness of their products. The company’s official website reveals that Zhaoyin Financial Leasing is wholly owned by China Merchants Bank and has already rolled out comprehensive financial solutions tailored to ten key industries: aviation, shipping, energy, infrastructure, equipment manufacturing, environmental protection, health, culture, tourism, public transportation, logistics, smart connectivity, integrated circuits, and peer-to-peer leasing. As of press time, China Merchants Bank’s A-share stock price stood at 44.82 yuan per share, with its total market capitalization reaching 1.14 trillion yuan.

Compared to CATL's previous collaborations with companies in the car rental sector, this partnership places particular emphasis on battery-swapping services. In the infrastructure domain, CATL will leverage Shenzhou Car Rental's extensive network of over 2,000 offline locations and parking facilities nationwide, jointly building a battery-swapping network that covers key transportation hubs. This initiative aims to deliver an efficient "return-and-replace-in-one-go" service for car rental customers.

At the digital level, the Car Inc. app will integrate battery-swapping station navigation and payment functions, creating a seamless, end-to-end service that encompasses "rental—battery swap—return." Meanwhile, the battery-swapping stations will prioritize the use of photovoltaic green energy and actively participate in grid frequency regulation and peak-shaving operations, contributing to the development of a new-type power system. According to the official website, Car Inc. boasts an extensive service network spanning major cities and popular tourist destinations across China, along with its professional 24-hour vehicle pickup, drop-off, and customer service offerings. Additionally, complimentary GPS navigation and roadside assistance services ensure that customers can enjoy convenient, on-demand car rental solutions anytime, anywhere.
Previously, CATL unveiled its battery swap station construction plan: 1,000 swap stations are set to be completed by 2025, built by CATL’s subsidiary, Times Electric Service. The mid-term goal is to establish 10,000 swap stations, jointly developed by Times Electric Service and its ecosystem partners. Ultimately, the company aims to build 30,000 swap stations nationwide—collaboratively constructed by society as a whole. Recently, CATL has continued expanding its strategic partnerships in the battery-swapping sector, partnering successively with NIO and Sinopec. Notably, CATL and NIO will jointly create the world’s largest battery-swapping network, while also driving the standardization of industry-wide technical protocols. As of press time, CATL’s A-share stock price stood at RMB 264.43 per share, with its total market capitalization reaching RMB 1.22 trillion.

Translated from Sina Auto

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