Dongfeng's Yipai EP7 sedan adds a battery-swap variant in latest MIIT filing

Dongfeng's Yipai (eπ) brand has lodged a battery-swap take on its EP7 mid-to-large sedan in the newest MIIT catalogue, adding another nameplate to CATL's expanding swapping ecosystem.

The car stretches 4,910 mm long, 1,930 mm wide and 1,478 mm tall on a 2,920 mm wheelbase, with a 1,851 kg curb weight. A single 215 kW (288 hp) motor built by Dongfeng's in-house Zhixin Technology drives it, while the swappable LFP pack comes from CATL. A conventionally powered sibling running Dongfeng's own ternary lithium cells was filed in the same batch.

Visually it sticks to the regular EP7's formula: a blanked-off grille, a "star-ring" light bar across the nose, a shovel-shaped front lip, semi-recessed door handles and a matching full-width rear lamp.

All six major state-owned carmakers — FAW, Dongfeng, Changan, SAIC, GAC and BAIC — now field Choco-SEB swap models, and Chery has added a swappable iCar too, so the classic chicken-and-egg standoff over swapping infrastructure looks to be easing: CATL already runs more than 2,000 passenger-car swap stations and targets 3,000 by year-end. The EP7 swap version matches the Arcfox Beta S3 in size, and its price is expected to land in similar territory.