After establishing 2,000 battery-swap stations across urban areas, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) is now shifting its focus to linking cities through highway corridors.

The Chocolate battery-swap station at the Laohekou service area in Hubei province recently began operations, according to information obtained from Time Electric Service (the swap network arm of CATL). A representative from the company revealed that Chocolate swap is advancing toward centralized agreements for 100-station batches across multiple provinces, with a target of surpassing 1,000 signed highway stations by the end of this year and completing 1,000 operating highway swap stations by 2027, forming an "11 vertical, 9 horizontal" backbone network for highway battery swapping.

The same representative noted that Time Electric Service is partnering with provincial transportation groups and highway platforms, with Chongqing, Fujian, Shanxi, Anhui, Henan, Guangxi, and Gansu expected to be among the first to roll out the service. Ongoing construction projects are concentrated along major expressways such as the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau, Nanjing-Luoyang, Daqing-Guangzhou, and Shanghai-Kunming corridors.

This highway network build-out rests on a far larger urban foundation than before. As of the end of June 2026, the Chocolate swap network had cumulatively completed 2,000 stations covering 31 provinces and 180 cities. Company data published in July shows partnerships with 11 automakers, 18 passenger car brands, and 25 vehicle models.

Vehicles are also reaching customers. On August 8, 100 Arcfox Beta S3 swap-enabled cars were delivered in Xiamen. Arcfox currently offers family-oriented battery rental plans for this model, including a monthly fee of 399 yuan with a 5,000-kilometer mileage allowance, as well as an unlimited-mileage option at 599 yuan per month. Consumers can now weigh the convenience of battery swapping and monthly costs side by side when selecting a vehicle.

Family users and high-frequency commercial operators have fundamentally different usage patterns. Daily commuting may only require a handful of stations near home, but annual trips home or long-distance self-drive journeys still heavily influence whether a family chooses a swap-capable vehicle. For swap-capable models that also support plug-in charging, the more plentiful the swap stations along the route, the more likely consumers are to use the service during long trips—and the more attractive the battery rental proposition becomes.

A portion of the revenue from highway stations therefore occurs off-site: convenient en-route recharging can make swap-enabled urban vehicles easier to sell, generating more orders for city stations. Even a highway station with low daily usage can play a critical role in connecting an entire travel corridor.

This explains why Time Electric Service is pursuing batch cooperation with provincial transportation platforms. Highway battery swapping requires continuous station placement; negotiating sites one by one and calculating returns individually would inevitably create gaps in coverage. Coordinating service area resources at the provincial level helps arrange construction across entire routes, while requiring partners to jointly shoulder the longer investment payback periods of certain stations.

Recent cooperation projects this year have already outlined more specific divisions of capital and resources. On August 24, Time Electric Service signed an agreement with Kun Development New Energy to jointly build 100 Chocolate swap stations. The project explicitly assigns asset investment to Kun Development New Energy, which will also leverage its advantages in site provision, vehicle replacement, and local coordination. Time Electric Service will supply the standardized swap system, operational solutions, and digital infrastructure, with both parties aligning on battery configuration, pricing, and service standards.

The agreement brings together the most critical resources for station construction: capital, land, and the vehicles that will eventually use the stations. Vehicle resources contributed by local platforms are especially vital, as they align construction plans with actual regional demand, reducing the pressure of hunting for customers after stations are built.

In Kunming, Time Electric Service participates in the swap network funded by local capital by exporting its standards and operating systems. Station assets may be held by partners, while battery configuration, pricing, and services follow unified rules. As the number of stations grows, the work of dispatching batteries across stations, maintaining equipment, and organizing services will sustain an ongoing business relationship between Time Electric Service and its partners.

What automakers gain is a recharging network they can simply plug into. Building an independent swap system would require a single automaker to shoulder the investment based on its own vehicle volume. With multi-brand sharing, en-route stations can serve vehicles from different manufacturers, reducing the supporting costs automakers must bear to promote swap-enabled models. For carmakers that have not built their own networks, this makes swapping a far more accessible product option.

In return, automakers must maintain coordination with Time Electric Service on battery adaptation, product development, and after-sales service. Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited's cooperation with carmakers now extends from battery procurement into the vehicle usage phase. The more complete the highway network, the easier it becomes for automakers to market long-distance swapping as a selling point, sustaining collaboration long after the initial vehicle sale.

Once the network expands, the pace of vehicle adoption will directly shape returns for all parties. Cooperative models must pass through development, launch, and sales before they become regular station customers; family users also swap at lower frequencies than high-volume commercial fleets. Highway stations must also build capacity for holiday traffic surges, while relying on more orders during ordinary days to spread equipment, battery, and maintenance costs.

Most highway stations plan to install Shenxing ultra-fast charging piles, which can broaden the customer base. The charging business can serve passing vehicles that have not adopted swap solutions, and some equipment can be shared with the swap system. Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited has previously disclosed that its integrated super-charging and swap stations can share transformer boxes and charging modules, and can draw on station batteries to power charging piles in emergencies.

For service area operators, the same plot of land can now accommodate both charging and swapping vehicles, improving utilization of both site and electrical infrastructure. Revenue from charging operations can also sustain station operations while swap vehicle numbers gradually ramp up.

By expanding from cities onto expressways, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited is organizing batteries, vehicles, and stations into a durable business. Local partners contribute capital and land, automakers launch compatible models, and Time Electric Service stitches scattered stations into a unified service network. Automakers sell their vehicles; Time Electric Service operates the battery and recharging services that follow those vehicles after delivery.