World’s largest EV battery producer reveals third-gen product that charges in under six-and-a-half minutes, easing drivers’ range anxiety
2-MIN READ2-MINDaniel Renin ShanghaiPublished: 9:24am, 22 Apr 2026Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL), the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) battery producer, has unveiled its upgraded technologies – including lighter battery packs and faster charging mode – which are expected to accelerate the global automotive industry’s electrification drive.The company, which holds more than a 40 per cent share of the global market, aimed to set a healthy tone for the Chinese EV sector to implement its go-global strategy, focusing on constant technological advancements rather than an endless cycle of price competition, according to founder and chairman Robin Zeng Yuqun.
“For Chinese EV technologies [to] expand abroad, we should chase, not only the speed and scale, but the quality of innovation, the ability to validate and the credibility of the brands,” he said at the company’s Super Technology Day event in Beijing on Tuesday. “A rigorous attitude towards scientific research is our most important commitment today.”
At the event, CATL announced that its third-generation Shenxing battery took six minutes and 27 seconds to charge, down from 10 per cent to 98 per cent. The charging speed beats BYD’s second-generation Blade battery which takes nine minutes to charge from 10 per cent to 90 per cent.
CATL claimed that it was the fastest EV charging technology in the world.
BYD, the world’s largest EV assembler, also produces battery packs. Its global market share stood at 13.4 per cent in the first two months of 2026, trailing only CATL, according to Seoul-based SNE Research.
