First Sodium-Ion EV Battery for Mass Production

The World's First Sodium-Ion EV Battery Built for Everyday Drivers

Lithium-ion has powered electric vehicles for over a decade. However, it has never fully solved one stubborn problem: the cold. Drivers in freezing climates watch their range shrink before they leave the driveway. On February 5, 2026, CATL and CHANGAN unveiled the world's first mass-production passenger vehicle equipped with a sodium-ion EV battery in Yakeshi, Inner Mongolia. The vehicle is set to reach the market by mid-2026, with CATL supplying its Naxtra sodium-ion batteries across CHANGAN's full brand portfolio, including AVATR, Deepal, Qiyuan, and UNI. For the first time, this chemistry moves from lab research into a car people can actually buy.

What the Naxtra Sodium-Ion EV Battery Actually Delivers

Range and cold resilience define the Naxtra. CATL's Naxtra battery achieves an energy density of up to 175 Wh/kg and enables a pure-electric range exceeding 400 km. More importantly, performance doesn't collapse when temperatures do. The Naxtra cell delivers nearly three times the discharge power of equivalent lithium iron phosphate batteries at minus 30 degrees Celsius, retains over 90% capacity at minus 40 degrees, and maintains stable power delivery at temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees.

For a driver in northern China, Russia, or Canada, that gap is the difference between a reliable car and one that fails in winter. Furthermore, tested under conditions including crushing, drilling, and sawing, the battery stays smoke and fire free while continuing to provide power, setting a new bar for EV battery safety.

A Decade of Work Behind One Production Car

None of this arrived quickly. CATL began sodium-ion research in 2016, investing nearly RMB 10 billion, developing close to 300,000 test cells, and assembling a team of more than 300 R&D engineers including 20 PhDs. That sustained effort culminated in a critical milestone: Naxtra became the first sodium-ion battery to pass China's latest national safety standard for EV traction batteries, covering thermal stability, mechanical impact resistance, and fast-charge cycling performance. Consequently, what reaches drivers isn't experimental. It's certified, tested, and production-ready.

How the Sodium-Ion EV Battery Ecosystem Is Scaling

CHANGAN opened the door, and others are following quickly. Li Auto will integrate CATL's sodium-ion batteries into upcoming models under a separate strategic partnership, while GAC Aion and JAC vehicles have already completed winter testing and are positioned for production deployment.

The infrastructure is growing in parallel. CATL plans to open more than 3,000 Choco-Swap battery swap stations across 140 cities in China by 2026, with over 600 located in colder northern regions, making energy access fast and practical even in the harshest climates. Beyond China, sodium-ion batteries are expected to grow at 18% CAGR between 2026 and 2031 as automakers worldwide cut their dependence on lithium supply chains.

Gao Huan, CTO of CATL's China E-car Business, described it as the beginning of a dual-chemistry era. Lithium-ion doesn't disappear. It simply no longer has to do everything alone.