CATL Added a Second Battery to Electric Trucks. So Why Cut the Rental Rate?

An extra battery—and a lower stated rate?

On October 20, 2026, battery maker CATL introduced a dual-electric range extension architecture for heavy electric trucks. The main unit is a standardized, chassis-mounted battery rented and swapped through QIJI. A separate 77 kWh battery behind the cab remains with the vehicle as auxiliary power.

CATL also announced net-energy-based battery leasing that it says can lower the battery rental cost per kWh by up to 20% for customers on basic plans. The intriguing contrast is a truck with more installed battery capacity, alongside a cheaper unit rate for a service.

These are separate improvements. The auxiliary pack is intended to make more of the primary pack usable before a swap; the quoted 20% concerns how energy is measured and billed. It is not a measured 20% reduction in a truck's entire operating budget.

The unused portion of a 432 kWh leased pack

Drivers tend to return to swap stations with charge remaining to avoid running empty between stations. CATL says the main pack's depth of discharge in these conditions is often around 70%, leaving roughly 30% unused for a particular swap cycle.

The auxiliary pack acts as a reserve after the main pack falls low. CATL claims this can increase main-pack discharge depth to over 95%, with less than 5% state of charge remaining when swapped, as power delivery switches within milliseconds.

Consider the new 260# pack rated at 432 kWh. At a 70% discharge depth, the simple arithmetic is 302.4 kWh used; at 95% it is 410.4 kWh, a difference of 108 kWh or 35.7% of the prior usable amount. That is a mathematical illustration, not a field-tested driving-range improvement. CATL also announced a 300# pack rated at 513 kWh.

Why standardize the main pack and customize the auxiliary one?

CATL calls the architecture '1+X'. A standardized main battery must fit a shared QIJI swap network. The independently configured auxiliary unit can instead favor energy density, low-temperature performance or high power depending on the fleet's duty cycle.

This separates the priorities of truck manufacturers, station operators and transport customers. Manufacturers require different vehicle configurations; stations need compatible inventory; fleets would prefer not to lease the same capacity on every day of the year.

The auxiliary pack is a vehicle asset while the main pack can be leased according to seasonal demand. That may reduce idle leasing charges, although buyers still need to factor in the backup unit's mass, purchase price, charging and maintenance.

Who keeps the value of regenerative braking?

QIJI says its battery-as-a-service model charges for net energy charged, rather than gross energy discharged. The distinction matters when regenerative braking captures energy on descents and during deceleration.

For a purely illustrative calculation, suppose a truck draws 100 kWh and regenerates 15 kWh. Ignoring charging losses and other measurement effects, the net change is 85 kWh. A rate based on net energy could recognize the recovered energy in a way a gross-discharge measure does not.

CATL links this billing arrangement to a reduction of up to 20% in battery rental cost per kWh for basic-plan users. That number is a company claim within specified plans. It does not guarantee savings across all customers, nor does it arise automatically from installing an extra 77 kWh pack.

A lower price is not the same as better operator margins

A smaller rental rate can reduce revenue on the same quantity of billed energy. But a battery-swap network depends on station utilization, battery inventory turnover, charging and energy costs, depreciation, fleet density and maintenance as well as the headline rate.

If savings encourage more freight operators to electrify, stations could have more potential use. Yet a larger user base may also require additional batteries and charging infrastructure. Revenue and profit outcomes cannot be inferred from CATL's product launch alone.

The underlying change is that CATL is participating beyond a one-off pack sale—in the recurring economics of access, replenishment and asset management. That expands opportunities while also introducing operating and capital-allocation risks.

Where the stations are may matter more than how many exist

CATL targets 900 heavy-truck battery-swapping stations by the end of 2026, 2,000 by 2027 and a longer-term network of 10,000. QIJI says a battery can be swapped in roughly five minutes. These are announced targets and product claims, not universal observed waiting times.

A freight fleet traveling between particular depots and ports needs a station on its actual corridor with sufficient available compatible batteries. A large national count is less useful if a truck has to detour or queue at the wrong moment.

The new 260# 432 kWh and 300# 513 kWh blocks join QIJI's earlier 75# standard, a move toward compatibility across vehicle types. CATL also announced agreements covering 13,000 vehicles at the launch, which should not be treated as 13,000 delivered and operating trucks.

A network of partners, not just battery factories

QIJI names truck manufacturers, financial firms, insurers, distributors and aftermarket services as participants. It is offering two cooperation models: Battery Asset Service Partners and Energy Replenishment Service Partners.

Owning battery assets requires capital, useful-life and residual-value management. Operating stations requires site selection, grid connections, schedules, inventory availability and maintenance. They are distinct capabilities and need not be performed by one company.

A crucial question is whether lowering prices to fleet customers also preserves sufficient returns for asset owners and station operators. A system that shifts costs from one party to another has not automatically improved its total economics.

The performance measures that still need verification

The 77 kWh reserve, the claimed increase in usable main-battery share, the up-to-20% per-kWh rate effect and national station targets are four different types of measurement. They cannot be added into a single margin-improvement number.

Commercial proof will require delivered vehicle counts, actual swap frequency, route-level station utilization, residual main-pack charge, auxiliary-pack ownership costs, billing uptake, battery inventory rotation and partner returns. Only a complete operating dataset can show whether the new model creates value across the system.