{
  "id": 17363327,
  "title": "Can battery swapping and energy storage power CATL’s next phase of growth?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/can-battery-swapping-and-energy-storage-power-catls-next-phase-of",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-31T08:00:09.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "SCMP Tech",
    "slug": "scmp-tech",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/business/climate-and-energy/article/3372711/can-battery-swapping-and-energy-storage-power-catls-next-phase-growth"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL), the world's largest battery maker, is focusing on new businesses such as battery swapping and energy storage to drive growth amid intense price wars and profitability challenges. Established competitors like Nio and BYD have strong footholds in these sectors, making it challenging for CATL to maintain its leadership. To evolve, CATL aims to become a standard-setting platform with an integrated ecosystem. The company has signed four strategic battery-swapping partnerships this month, including with Dongfeng Motor Corporation and Huawei subsidiary Shenzhen Yinwang Intelligent Technology. Battery swapping, a technology enabling EVs to swap depleted batteries for fully charged ones in three to five minutes, is an alternative to BYD's flash charging method. Nio, a Nio pioneer, has partnered with CGN New Energy Holdings and Geely Holding for the expansion of battery swapping. CATL recently launched a wholly-owned energy-storage subsidiary with a 5 billion yuan capital, focusing on AI software development. Internationally, CATL announced a 3 gigawatt-hour sodium-ion battery project with German energy-storage provider Intilion. China's broader industry trend towards energy storage, driven by demand from AI data centers for stable power supply, reflects the growing importance of this market segment. Analysts warn that persistent price wars in China could hurt CATL's fundamentals if exports and higher-margin energy storage fail to boost fourth-quarter earnings. CATL's third-quarter profit growth slowdown has caused its shares to hit a record low, with Nomura analyst Ethan Zhang predicting a potential 10.2% earnings decline for 2026-2028 due to a new battery consumption tax and other challenges. However, CATL remains optimistic, discussing ways to share the tax burden with carmakers and projecting improved profitability as deliveries shift towards higher-margin products.",
  "summary": "Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) has doubled down on new businesses including battery swapping and energy storage as the world’s largest battery maker seeks new growth drivers amid intensifying price wars and mounting pressure on profitability. But the new path is far from straightforward. Established players like Nio have already built a strong presence in battery swapping, while BYD…",
  "key_points": [
    "CATL focuses on battery swapping and energy storage to drive growth amid price wars.",
    "Launched a 5 billion yuan energy-storage subsidiary with AI software development focus."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Diversifying into battery swapping and energy storage allows the industry leader to bypass intense price wars and seek higher margins through integrated ecosystems and new infrastructure partnerships.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}