China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. said Tuesday that it launched a battery-swapping service for electric vehicles.

The world's biggest electric-vehicle battery manufacturer joins Chinese charging-service providers and car makers including NIO Inc. and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in exploring the business, which could cut a significant share from current prices of electric cars.

CATL said in a statement that it will offer the service in 10 Chinese cities, using a newly developed battery that can be combined with multiple units in a chocolate-bar-like structure for longer ranges. The service will allow drivers to swap a single battery pack, which can provide a range of around 200 kilometers, in one minute.

CATL also launched a battery-swappable version of a sport-utility vehicle that was developed by Chinese state-owned car maker FAW Group for ride-hailing use.

China has encouraged the expansion of battery-swapping services in an effort to boost the sales of environmentally friendly vehicles, which accounted for 14.8% of overall car sales last year.

In China, few individual drivers have been swapping their car batteries, with the services more popular among ride-hailing fleets and public transportation.

NIO, which operates more than half of the country's 1,300 battery-swapping stations, has been offering such services only to owners of NIO cars, though it has said it remains open to cross-brand cooperation. More than 90% of NIO drivers have used its battery-swapping services, the company said in November.

Meanwhile, Aulton New Energy Automotive Technology Co., which provides battery-swapping service mainly to fleet drivers, aims to expand its services by 24 times to 10,000 stations in the country by 2025. The Guangzhou-based company said in November that it has been developing more than two dozen car models with swappable batteries with Chinese car makers.


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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-18-22 0536ET