TodayToday's edition
CATL's Akin Li told electrive that Erfurt already supplies NMC cells to MAN, while LFP packs for Daimler Truck still come from China. The swap timings are CATL's own claims.
3 min read
A CATL TECTRANS II heavy-duty truck battery pack, from the company's September launch at IAA Transportation. It is not a photo of a swap station or the Erfurt plant.
Image: CATL
Source · Press image from the CATL newsroom, used for news reporting.
CATL's top executive for international business, Akin Li, told the trade outlet electrive in an interview published on Oct. 22 that a truck battery swap takes five minutes, against about 25 minutes per truck at a conventional charger, and that the company's Erfurt plant in Germany already supplies NMC cells to MAN.
Li said CATL runs three plants in Europe, at Erfurt, in Hungary and in Spain through a joint venture, with total capacity of more than 150 gigawatts across NMC and LFP chemistries. He gave the figure in gigawatts and did not say whether he meant GW or GWh, how much is built, or how it splits by plant, so treat it as a company statement until CATL publishes a breakdown. LFP batteries for truck makers such as Daimler Truck are still made in China and shipped over, a split the interviewer put to him and Li answered by saying CATL is currently manufacturing in China.
CATL is pitching two things to European truck makers: local cell supply and battery swapping. Li said that if local production becomes necessary for trucks, CATL will be in position, and that its European strategy stays flexible and depends on the market. He added that Volvo Group should use CATL batteries in coming years after CEO Robin Zeng met Volvo Group CEO Martin Lundstedt at IAA Transportation, where Li said the two sides agreed to collaborate. CATL also works with logistics group DHL on what Li called a green corridor.
CATL says a swap takes 5 minutes against about 25 minutes at a fast charger, a vendor claim not independently confirmed.
Illustration (AI-generated)
For depots and grid planners, the swap argument is about power, not just time. Li said swap stations need no large grid connection because packs are charged slowly and then installed. He said a swap takes five minutes, against about 25 minutes per truck at a conventional charger, and argued that drivers taking the mandatory 45-minute break after 4.5 hours of driving tend to queue at the same chargers. Those are CATL's claims, not independent measurements.
Li said CATL makes NMC, LFP and sodium-ion cells and cannot say which chemistry will be best around 2035. He described solid-state as still a long way off. In China, he said, LFP dominates trucks because routes are short and fixed and vehicles run around the clock, while NMC suits long-haul work that needs fast charging and higher energy density.
On standardisation, which European makers cite as an obstacle, Li said CATL has developed standard swap packs: #20, #25 and #26 for passenger cars and 75# for heavy-duty trucks. He said these fit 85% of A-segment models in China. He also said the battery is nearly 25 to 30 per cent of a vehicle's price, which is why leasing the pack through swap can lower the entry cost for buyers.
CATL has recently expanded the swap approach at home. Voltgrid has covered its heavy-truck swap system and the BAIC deal on the Choco swap network. Li said European customers want trucks to stay in service for eight to ten years, while Chinese trucks are often sold after four or five.
Li said European makers are interested in swapping but hesitant because they must cover many use cases and cannot easily standardise packs. No European truck maker has announced a swap programme, and the interview names no station count, timeline or site for Europe. Li also said ownership of swap batteries and who funds the stations are still open questions, since the model needs significant capital.
