GAC-Huawei brand Aistaland reportedly planning battery swap models under CATL tie-up

• Aistaland is the latest brand to surface under the battery swap partnership between Huawei's automotive business and CATL.
• Aistaland will be the first to launch models that connect to CATL's Choco swap network, a person familiar with the matter said.

Aistaland, the brand jointly created by GAC Group (HKEX: 2238) and Huawei, is reportedly planning new battery swap models, making it the latest brand to surface under the battery swap partnership between Huawei's automotive business and CATL (HKEX: 3750).

Lanjinger reported on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter, that Aistaland already has battery swap models in its plans. "Given the depth of the collaboration between Aistaland and Huawei Qiankun, it will certainly be the first to land," the person said.

The report did not disclose the number of battery swap models, their launch timing or the battery specifications they would use.

The news comes just 2 days after Huawei's Newcool (also known as Yinwang) and CATL announced their battery swap partnership. On October 19, Newcool, CATL and Contemporary Amperex Energy Service Technology (CAES), CATL's battery swap operating arm, signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement under which Newcool formally joined the Choco swap ecosystem.

Under the agreement, Newcool will work with strategic partners to adapt and connect partner models equipped with Huawei Qiankun intelligent vehicle solutions to the Choco swap network. The agreement itself did not list specific models or launch timelines.

Several media outlets have since disclosed product details, though their accounts differ. LatePost reported on Tuesday that the first batch of partner models is tentatively set at 5, with launches planned for 2027.

Cailian reported earlier the same day that the first partner model is scheduled for launch in 2027 and will debut under Epicland, the brand jointly created by Dongfeng and Huawei.

Lanjinger's latest report, by contrast, says Aistaland "will certainly be the first to land." There has been no official confirmation on which brand will be the first to launch a partner model.

Aistaland is a premium EV brand jointly built by Huawei Qiankun and GAC, with a Huawei team stationed in Guangzhou working alongside GAC to jointly define and develop vehicles.

Jin Yuzhi, Huawei senior vice president and Newcool CEO, has previously said the tie-up is neither a simple supplier relationship nor a full-stack solution handoff, and that Huawei has fully opened its most critical underlying interfaces and tuning data to GAC.

The brand has launched 2 models so far, the GT7 and the GX7. The GT7 shooting brake went on sale on June 26, and the GX7, an extended-range SUV with batteries supplied by CATL, followed on September 23.

For Aistaland, tapping into an existing public battery swap network would allow it to leverage CATL's built-out station footprint without having to build its own energy replenishment system.

The brand's sales ramp has been slow. It sold 2,658 vehicles in July, with sales falling to 1,100 in August before rising to 1,375 in September, according to figures released by GAC.

For CATL, adding more Huawei Qiankun partner brands would help expand the user base of its Choco swap network. As of September 29, CATL had built 2,520 battery swap stations across 200 cities in China, with a long-term target of 30,000.

CATL also plans to build 1,000 highway battery swap stations between 2026 and 2027, extending the network from cities to long-distance travel scenarios.