【By Guancha Observer Network, Zhang Jiadong; Edited by Gao Shen】

On May 18th, Zeng Yubing, Chairman of CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited), stated at the "New Generation Heavy Truck Battery Swap Ecosystem Launch Event" that by 2028, half of the heavy truck sales in China may be electric vehicles.

CATL Chairman Zeng Yubing. All images in this article are from CATL's official website.

Zeng Yubing said that CATL's newly launched 75 battery is designed to achieve this goal. At the same time, CATL also introduced the Qiji Battery Swap Solution for heavy trucks and a full-scenario chassis battery swap solution. It plans to build an "eight horizontal and ten vertical" battery swap green network covering 80% of the national trunk line transportation capacity by 2030, with the aim of making it possible for new energy heavy trucks to refuel as quickly as filling up a gas tank in five minutes.

In related reports, Reuters noted that compared to passenger vehicles, the penetration rate of new energy commercial vehicles lags far behind. According to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), the penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicles in China has already approached 50%, and is expected to exceed this proportion by 2025. In contrast, although new energy commercial vehicles have also seen rapid growth in recent years, their penetration rate remains at only 15%.

Academician Sun Fengchun of the Chinese Academy of Engineering stated at the meeting: "Heavy-duty trucks account for only 3% of vehicle ownership but contribute to 43% of road traffic carbon emissions. Therefore, the electrification of heavy-duty trucks is an important approach to achieving the country's dual carbon strategy for transportation."

Guan Zhao, Deputy Director of the Transport Service Department of the Ministry of Transport, stated that the promotion and application of new energy heavy-duty trucks will effectively promote the green transformation of China's trunk logistics transportation. Next steps, the Ministry of Transport will focus on enhancing the energy replenishment service guarantee capabilities of highway service areas and national and provincial trunk roads along highways to create a green corridor for electric heavy-duty trucks.

Currently, new energy heavy-duty trucks mainly include pure electric heavy-duty trucks, plug-in hybrid heavy-duty trucks, and fuel cell heavy-duty trucks. Fuel cell heavy-duty trucks still face disadvantages such as immature technology and poor economic performance. Electric heavy-duty trucks powered by lithium-ion batteries will remain an important type in the future.

Among pure electric heavy-duty trucks, the battery swap mode offers advantages such as shorter refueling time, reduced purchase costs, and extended battery life, which can improve the operational efficiency of heavy-duty trucks.

According to a research report by CITIC Securities, 2022 marked the beginning of high growth for battery swap heavy-duty trucks, with the industry expected to grow tenfold over the next five years. It is estimated that by 2025, the sales volume of battery swap commercial vehicles could reach 160,000 units, accounting for about 33% of total new energy commercial vehicle sales, with a market size exceeding one billion yuan.

At the 2024 China Commercial Vehicle Forum, Kerui Zhexin, a professional consulting agency specializing in automotive and related industrial chain research, stated: The positive factors driving the favorable sales of new energy heavy-duty trucks are the supportive policies of the state, including both incentives and preferential policies such as road rights, as well as mandatory regulations like fuel consumption laws and environmental policies, forcing users and manufacturers to transition to new energy solutions.

However, some industry experts also pointed out that the current number and layout density of heavy-duty truck battery swap stations are far from meeting the needs of battery swap heavy-duty trucks. Due to insufficient densification of the current refueling network, the long detour time for refueling and low efficiency of queue swapping have limited the promotion of new energy heavy-duty trucks due to the construction of energy infrastructure. Additionally, because heavy-duty trucks require higher reliability and durability than passenger cars, some insiders believe that ensuring the safety of heavy-duty trucks using the battery swap form is particularly important.

This article is an exclusive contribution from the Guancha Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7506044624041935395/

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