A new EV battery that can add 370 miles (600 km) range in 10 minutes? China’s CATL introduced its new Shenxing Plus EV battery, capable of just that. CATL claims the new EV battery is the world’s first with 4C ultra-fast charging and +620 miles (1,000 km) CLTC range.

CATL reveals world’s first 4C ultra-fast charging battery

CATL continues advancing EV battery tech as it aims to develop longer-range, faster charging units.

The EV battery giant dominates the industry after leading again in 2023 for the seventh straight year. CATL’s EV battery consumption reached 259.7 GWh last year. Meanwhile, total battery consumption rose to 705.5 GWh globally.

CATL’s share of the market reached as high as 36.8% in 2023, nearly 21% ahead of its closest rival, BYD.

Last summer, CATL revealed its Shenxing SuperFast Charging Battery, capable of adding 248 miles (400 km) in 10 minutes.

Its latest battery, Shenxing Plus, uses cheaper, more advanced lithium iron phosphate for even faster charging.

CATL said the new EV battery is the world’s first with 4C ultra-fast charging and +620 miles (1,000 km) CLTC long-range capabilities. The new battery can gain a one-km range in as little as one minute. Even at extreme temperatures as low as -20°C (-4°F), the new battery offers superfast charging.

To improve the energy density, CATL introduced its in-house 3D honeycomb material. As a result, the Shenxing Plus has an energy density of 205 Wh/kg, comparable to most traditional NCM batteries.

LFP batteries are typically cheaper but are known to offer lower energy density. CATL’s new battery looks to change that.

In January, CATL said it would reduce the cost of LFP batteries per kWh by a massive 50% by the middle of 2024. It looks like it’s well on its way. You can watch CATL’s 2024 product launch below.

Electrek’s Take

With cheaper, more efficient EV batteries coming out of China, the country looks to solidify its position as the world’s largest electric car market.

In February, CATL formed an “all-star” lineup with other Chinese automakers and battery makers, such as BYD and NIO, to develop new solid-state batteries.

BYD and CATL already supply batteries to Tesla, Ford, BMW, Toyota, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and Toyota. With even cheaper, more advanced battery tech launching, CATL is enabling more buyers globally to go electric.

Although most automakers have announced plans to develop batteries, how do they plan to keep up with CATL if it’s already this far ahead?

Source: CarNewsChina, CATL

After recently launching its newest electric scooter, the Gogoro JEGO Smartscooter, deliveries of the hot-selling electric scooters are ready to begin. This marks a new page for Gogoro, the world’s largest battery-swapping network operator, and makes swappable battery electric scooters more affordable than ever.

The Gogoro JEGO launched in Taiwan last month, quickly racking up over 6,500 fully-paid pre-orders in that short time.

Gogoro already dominates the local market with around a 90% share of new electric scooter registrations in Taiwain. According to Gogoro, JEGO sales are showing the strongest demand for a Gogoro vehicle since the beginning of the pandemic.  The company’s domestic market of Taiwan is by far its largest, though Gogoro scooters and battery swapping stations have now expanded to much of Asia as Gogoro expands its footprint.

With an introductory price that drops as low as just US $760 after government subsidies, the JEGO is positioned as an affordable new model to open up the local market further and entice more price-sensitive combustion engine scooter riders.

The scooter was built around Gogoro’s well-known battery standard, allowing one or two battery packs to power the vehicle around cities and urban areas. Riders buy the scooter but don’t own the batteries, instead subscribing to a swapping plan. That helps reduce the price of the scooter further and ensures Gogoro can get the longest life out of the batteries possible via intelligent charging and swapping doctrines. Having started its swapping programs back in 2015, Gogoro has learned that its batteries are lasting even longer than originally anticipated, with a new estimated lifespan of around 12 years.

An affordable new battery-swapping subscription plan was also announced along with the JEGO, offering new riders a US $7/month plan to cover up to 1,000 km (621 miles) of riding per month when signing up for a three-year plan.

The JEGO’s goal of converting existing combustion engine scooter riders over to electric seems to be working well.

“JEGO has touched a positive chord with a new market segment of Taiwan riders – nearly all of our 6,500 pre-order customers are first-time EV riders. They are looking for a smart, convenient, and sustainable vehicle and are not just embracing JEGO’s innovation and design but also access to Gogoro’s vast battery-swapping network,” said Horace Luke, founder and CEO of Gogoro. “Initial JEGO sales are surpassing our expectations and showing the strongest demand we’ve seen since the beginning of the pandemic. With deliveries beginning this week, we expect to realize JEGO’s pre-order revenue this quarter.”

At the same time as Gogoro expands its entry-level offering with the JEGO, Gogoro is also preparing for the rollout of its recently revealed premium-level Gogoro Pulse. That high-performance model, which also uses the same Gogoro swappable battery packs, includes a number of automotive-style features never before seen in the electric scooter market.

The dual-pronged approach reveals Gogoro’s ability to innovate on both ends of the market, serving both entry-level riders and higher-performance enthusiasts.