A CATL battery swap station in Hong Kong. Credit: CATL
- CATL has put two swap stations into operation in Hong Kong and the first batch of swap taxis has been in operation.
- The company aims to cover core hubs across the city’s districts by 2030, serving high-frequency commercial vehicles.
CATL (HKEX: 3750) said it plans to build about 36 battery swap stations in Hong Kong by the end of 2030, and the network will cover major core hubs across all districts of the city.
The Chinese power battery giant said on Thursday that two Choco swap stations are now operational in Hong Kong, with the first batch of swap taxis already delivered. This marks the entry of the swapping model into a substantive operational phase in the city.
The Choco swap stations will mainly serve various types of high-frequency commercial vehicles, including taxis and logistics vehicles. The company aims to gradually form a swap network that supports citywide green mobility.
The swap taxi model in Hong Kong uses a right-hand-drive version of the Hongqi E-QM5. The vehicle is built on CATL’s Choco-SEB swap technology and can complete a battery swap within 99 seconds.
CATL said battery swap helps improve the operational attendance rate in the taxi and logistics sectors, reducing driver wait times and increasing operating revenue.
Hong Kong is mountainous, densely built and short on land. Swap stations occupy little space and are flexible to deploy, making them better suited to the local spatial layout and operating rhythm, CATL said.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu visited CATL on June 24. He toured the Choco swap passenger cars, light trucks and Vans, and experienced the swap taxi.
Lee said Hong Kong continues to advance the new energy industry and accelerate the roll-out of green technologies. He also expressed hope for closer cooperation between Fujian and Hong Kong in the sector.
Choco swap has expanded faster in the mainland market. As of May 2026, the company, headquartered in Ningde, Fujian, had built 1,650 swap stations covering 127 cities.
CATL plans to surpass 3,000 swap stations by the end of 2026, covering nearly 190 cities. Cities such as Chongqing, Guangzhou and Beijing have each already topped 50 stations.
The company said its high-density urban swap solution in Hong Kong could become a replicable reference. The model may be extended to more international cities in the future.
CATL will form a 50-50 joint venture with the UK’s Octopus Energy to jointly build a heavy-truck battery swap network in Europe.
