- CHANGAN and CATL will bring the first mass‑produced sodium‑ion passenger vehicle to market in mid‑2026.
- CATL's Naxtra sodium‑ion cells achieve up to 175 Wh/kg and enable >400 km pure‑electric range today, with projected 500–600 km for future pure‑EVs and 300–400 km for range‑extended hybrids.
- CATL reports cold‑weather performance of nearly 3× discharge power versus LFP at −30 °C, >90% capacity retention at −40 °C and stable output down to −50 °C, with no smoke or fire in crushing, drilling and sawing tests.
- CATL invested ~10 billion RMB since 2016, validated ~300,000 test cells with a >300‑strong R&D team (20 PhDs), plans >3,000 Choco‑Swap stations across 140 Chinese cities (600+ in northern regions) by 2026, and market forecasts project sodium‑ion growth from USD 1.39bn (2025) to USD 6.83bn (2034).
Launch
CHANGAN and CATL announced the first mass‑produced passenger vehicle using sodium‑ion batteries, scheduled to reach the market by mid‑2026.
Performance and safety
CATL's Naxtra sodium‑ion cells report energy density up to 175 Wh/kg, enabling current pure‑electric range over 400 km with projections of 500–600 km for future pure‑EVs and 300–400 km for range‑extended/hybrid models; tests show nearly triple discharge power versus LFP at −30 °C, >90% capacity retention at −40 °C, stable output down to −50 °C, and no smoke or fire in crushing, drilling and sawing tests.
Supply chain and deployment
Sodium‑ion chemistry uses abundant materials to diversify supply chains; CATL plans more than 3,000 Choco‑Swap battery swap stations across 140 Chinese cities (600+ in northern regions) by 2026, and market forecasts project growth from USD 1.39bn in 2025 to USD 6.83bn by 2034.
R&D and investment
CATL began sodium‑ion research in 2016, invested nearly 10 billion RMB, produced about 300,000 test cells and maintains a R&D team of over 300 staff including 20 PhDs to support scale‑up and cross‑brand integration.
