Huawei’s smart-car unit Newcool, CATL and CATL subsidiary Contemporary Amperex Energy Service Technology (CAES) signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement in China on October 19, 2026. The parties aim to develop a battery-swap ecosystem linking Huawei Qiankun intelligent automotive solutions with CATL’s Choco network. CAES operates CATL’s battery-swapping business.
The planned system would connect vehicle, station and cloud data. Using battery status and travel patterns, it is intended to predict when drivers will need energy and arrange swaps in advance. CATL says the envisioned process would let a vehicle decide when it needs a battery, navigate into a station, position itself for an automated 99-second swap and then leave. The announcement did not name vehicle models, a start date or initial service locations.
CATL reported 2,520 swap stations in 200 Chinese cities as of September 29, 2026, and has a long-term target of 30,000. Previously announced plans also call for 1,000 highway stations during 2026 and 2027, across 11 north-south and nine east-west corridors. Newcool’s participation could broaden the vehicle partnerships for the network. The article notes that Nio already offers navigation-assisted entry and automated swaps at some of its stations.