RMB 850,000 vs. RMB 400,000—this is not a simple arithmetic problem, but the harshest reality facing the new energy heavy-duty truck industry. When batteries account for nearly half the cost of a complete vehicle, when a five-year payback period conflicts sharply with an actual service life of only four to five years, and when the money saved on fuel can never catch up with the vehicle price difference, “unaffordable” becomes the greatest obstacle facing countless transportation professionals. The vehicle-battery separation model is fundamentally restructuring the business model and rewriting the answer to this challenge from “cannot afford to buy” to “can afford to swap.”

I. RMB 850,000 vs. RMB 400,000: The High Purchase Threshold for New Energy Heavy-Duty Trucks

1.1 Batteries Account for 40%-50% of Total Vehicle Cost, Making Them the Largest Cost Component

A diesel-powered heavy-duty truck in the same class costs approximately RMB 400,000, while a new energy heavy-duty truck often starts at RMB 850,000. The price difference of up to RMB 450,000 is almost entirely attributable to the battery. New energy heavy-duty trucks currently use large-capacity traction batteries ranging from 282kWh to 600kWh. The battery pack accounts for approximately 40%-50% of the total vehicle cost, making it the heaviest financial burden borne by users. Until battery technology achieves substantial cost reductions at scale, this “battery premium” will continue to exclude large numbers of potential users from the new energy heavy-duty truck market.

1.2 The Conflict between a Five-Year Payback Period and an Actual Service Life of Four to Five Years

From an operational perspective, electricity costs for new energy heavy-duty trucks are significantly lower than fuel costs—energy costs per kilometer can be reduced by approximately 50%-70%, making the apparent savings considerable. The problem is that most heavy-duty trucks have an actual service life of only four to five years, while calculations based on current purchase prices indicate that new energy heavy-duty trucks generally require more than five years to recover their investment. This means users may not recover their investment before the vehicle is retired. “Fuel savings cannot catch up with the purchase price difference” has become the most realistic description of the financial calculations made by frontline transportation professionals.

Consider a heavy-duty truck driver engaged in short-haul transportation in Tangshan as an example. He operates a diesel truck for an average of 200 kilometers per day and spends approximately RMB 12,000 per month on fuel. If he replaces it with an equivalent new energy heavy-duty truck, monthly electricity costs would be only about RMB 4,000, saving approximately RMB 8,000. However, the RMB 850,000 new energy truck costs RMB 450,000 more than the RMB 400,000 diesel truck. Even with monthly savings of RMB 8,000, it would take 56 months—approximately 4.7 years—to recover the price difference, which is already close to the end of the vehicle’s economic life. Furthermore, the reduction in residual value caused by battery degradation makes the calculation even more difficult in the final year.

1.3 The User’s Real Financial Calculation: Fuel Savings Cannot Catch Up with the Purchase Price Difference

This dilemma of “saving fuel without saving money” is the primary reason why the penetration rate of new energy heavy-duty trucks has struggled to reach a large-scale tipping point. Users are not unwilling to switch; they simply cannot afford to do so. The high entry threshold not only limits the choices of individual vehicle owners but also repeatedly pushes fleet operators beyond their acceptable ROI thresholds in investment calculations. Solving this challenge cannot depend solely on waiting for battery costs to fall—it requires a fundamental restructuring of the business model.

II. Vehicle-Battery Separation: Restructuring the Business Model for New Energy Heavy-Duty Trucks

2.1 How the Model Works: Purchase Only the Vehicle Chassis, Lease the Battery, and Pay Monthly

Vehicle-battery separation refers to a model in which “the vehicle and battery are transacted separately.” When purchasing a vehicle, the user pays only for the chassis without the battery. The battery is owned by a professional battery asset management company, and the user pays a monthly rental fee or a fee based on usage. This model reduces the purchase threshold for a new energy heavy-duty truck from RMB 850,000 to approximately RMB 400,000-450,000—almost equal to the price of a comparable diesel-powered heavy-duty truck—completely eliminating the entry barrier created by the “battery premium.”

2.2 Transformation of Cash Flow: One-Time Capital Expenditure → Recurring Operating Expenditure

The core economic logic of vehicle-battery separation lies in the reallocation of cash flow. Under the traditional model, users must make a one-time capital expenditure (CAPEX) of RMB 850,000, creating substantial financial pressure. Under the vehicle-battery separation model, approximately RMB 400,000 for the chassis is paid as a one-time expense, while the battery cost becomes a monthly operating expenditure (OPEX) of several thousand yuan. This converts a heavy fixed investment into a predictable recurring cost and significantly reduces users’ upfront capital requirements and financial risks.

For fleet operators, this transformation has even greater strategic significance. Capital changes from being “tied up all at once” to “circulating monthly,” allowing fleets to invest limited capital in more vehicles simultaneously, accelerate large-scale deployment, and increase transportation capacity and revenue together. According to industry estimates, the vehicle-battery separation model can reduce the initial investment required for a fleet of the same size by approximately 40%-50%, significantly improving capital efficiency.

2.3 Risk Transfer: Battery Degradation/Residual Value Risks Are Assumed by the Asset Management Company

Battery degradation and uncertain residual value have long been major concerns for users of new energy heavy-duty trucks. Under the traditional vehicle purchase model, battery health may decline to 70%-80% after five years. This not only affects operating efficiency but also substantially reduces the vehicle’s residual value—a battery pack originally priced at RMB 400,000 may be worth less than RMB 100,000 after five years. The vehicle-battery separation model transfers this risk from the user to a professional battery asset management company. The asset management company is responsible for full-lifecycle battery management, including health monitoring, maintenance, second-life utilization, and recycling. Users pay only for usage and do not bear the risks of battery degradation or declining residual value. This reduces long-term operating uncertainty for users while enabling more efficient battery recycling and reuse under professional management.

III. Strong Policy Support: The Plan Issued by 11 Government Departments Explicitly Encourages Business Model Innovation

3.1 Guiding Innovation in Vehicle-Battery Separation, Battery Leasing, Integrated Energy Services, and Other New Business Models

On May 29, 2026, eleven government departments—including the Ministry of Transport, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology—jointly issued the Implementation Plan for Promoting the Large-Scale Application of New Energy Heavy-Duty Trucks (Jiao Gui Hua Fa [2026] No. 52). It is currently the most comprehensive and forceful national-level policy framework for the new energy heavy-duty truck sector. Article 9, “Encouraging Business Model Innovation,” explicitly states: “Guide innovation in new business models such as vehicle-battery separation, battery leasing, and integrated energy services; vigorously develop emerging industries such as battery asset management and financial leasing of new energy transportation equipment; and promote multi-party joint operation models for new energy heavy-duty trucks.”

This statement means that vehicle-battery separation is no longer merely a market experiment conducted by enterprises; it has received formal encouragement and directional guidance through a national policy document. From “pilot programs” to “official guidance,” and from “concept” to “industrialization,” vehicle-battery separation has reached a historic point at which it is moving from a peripheral innovation toward a mainstream business model.

3.2 Supporting Policies for Battery Asset Management and Financial Leasing

The same provision also calls for “vigorous development of emerging industries such as battery asset management and financial leasing of new energy transportation equipment.” This means that implementing vehicle-battery separation receives not only policy encouragement at the business-model level but also supporting financial measures. The establishment and operation of battery asset management companies and the design and promotion of financial leasing products will receive policy guidance and support. Article 19 further calls for “strengthening fiscal and financial support,” encouraging government-backed financing guarantee institutions to provide credit enhancement for qualified enterprises, supporting loans for new energy heavy-duty trucks and energy replenishment facilities according to market-based principles, and allowing qualified enterprises to issue bonds. These financial instruments provide a solid funding foundation for the large-scale expansion of the vehicle-battery separation model.

3.3 The Trend of Financial Institutions Participating in Battery Asset Securitization

Driven by policy support, financial institutions are accelerating their entry into battery asset securitization. As a standardized, measurable, and traceable asset class, batteries are naturally suitable for securitization. Each battery has defined capacity specifications, health data, and usage records, and its entire lifecycle can be tracked through a digital energy management platform. In the future, battery assets may enter capital markets through financial products such as REITs and ABS, providing more abundant and lower-cost funding for vehicle-battery separation and creating a positive cycle of “battery assets → financial products → capital recovery → model expansion.”

The plan explicitly targets a 40% penetration rate for new energy heavy-duty trucks and a total fleet exceeding 1.6 million vehicles by 2030, while supporting and guiding the construction of approximately 3,000 heavy-duty truck charging and battery-swapping stations. This target provides a clear market outlook and infrastructure support for the large-scale application of vehicle-battery separation.

IV. Battery-Swapping Stations Are the Critical Infrastructure for Vehicle-Battery Separation

4.1 Three-Minute Battery Swapping vs. 1.5-Hour Charging

The operation of the vehicle-battery separation model depends on efficient battery-swapping infrastructure. Compared with traditional charging, battery swapping offers an overwhelming efficiency advantage: 1.5 hours of charging vs. three minutes of battery swapping—a 50-fold efficiency difference that directly determines the operating availability and profitability of heavy-duty trucks in high-frequency scenarios such as ports, mining areas, and trunk logistics.

Under the vehicle-battery separation model, users do not own batteries. Instead, batteries are obtained and replaced through battery-swapping stations on a “use and swap” basis. This means that the coverage density and service efficiency of battery-swapping stations directly determine user experience and operating costs. If swapping is not fast enough or stations are not sufficiently widespread, the economic advantages of vehicle-battery separation cannot be realized. Battery-swapping stations are the critical infrastructure that transforms vehicle-battery separation from “theoretically feasible” into “practically profitable.”

4.2 How EAX’s Complete Battery-Swapping Station Portfolio Supports Vehicle-Battery Separation

As one of the early Chinese companies engaged in battery-swapping technology research and development, EAX has established a complete battery-swapping station product portfolio covering passenger and commercial vehicles. It has delivered more than 300 battery-swapping stations, with products deployed in more than 50 countries and regions, providing a solid hardware foundation for implementing vehicle-battery separation.

In the heavy-duty truck battery-swapping sector, EAX has developed the Energy Engine Series multi-position battery-swapping stations, with standard configurations ranging from 3+1 to 9+1. Multi-bay equipment can also be expanded according to customer requirements, satisfying energy replenishment needs across all fleet sizes and scenarios, from short-haul transportation to trunk logistics.

The Energy Engine Series overhead-lifting battery-swapping stations for heavy-duty trucks include three major product lines: the SM Series, DM Series, and PX Series:

· SM Series: Low investment cost and limited power capacity expansion requirements; battery-swapping time reduced to less than five minutes; compatible with both battery swapping and charging; supports upgrades and relocation modifications

· DM Series: Ultra-fast dual-channel battery swapping; a single station can serve more than 360 vehicles per day; rapid return on investment in high-frequency, high-efficiency scenarios

· PX Series (Parallel Station): Multi-position parallel operation for high-frequency energy replenishment by large fleets

The battery-swapping success rate across the complete station portfolio is ≥99.9%. The stations withstand magnitude-7 earthquakes and Force-12 winds and operate at ambient temperatures ranging from -20℃ to 55℃, while versions for extremely cold or high-altitude environments can operate at temperatures as low as -40℃. Actual operation of heavy-duty truck battery-swapping stations in locations such as Midong, Xinjiang, and Chengdu, Sichuan, has verified that the complete swapping process at dual-channel stations consistently takes 2.8-3.2 minutes. The data is authentic and traceable, with no overstated performance records.

4.3 Multi-Position Battery-Swapping Stations (3+1/5+1/7+1) Meet the Requirements of Fleets of Different Sizes

The large-scale expansion of vehicle-battery separation requires battery-swapping stations to offer flexible adaptability—fleet sizes vary significantly across operating scenarios, resulting in entirely different requirements for the number of battery bays and the service capacity of battery-swapping stations.

EAX multi-position battery-swapping stations adopt a modular design and provide standardized configurations of 3+1, 5+1, 7+1, and even 9+1, with flexible capacity expansion as operations grow. This “configure on demand and upgrade flexibly” approach prevents the expansion of vehicle-battery separation from being constrained by a “one-size-fits-all” station model:

· 3+1 configuration: Suitable for small fleets of 5-10 vehicles and applications such as short-haul mining transportation and internal port transportation, with controllable initial investment

· 5+1/7+1 configuration: Suitable for medium-sized fleets of 20-50 vehicles and short- to medium-distance transportation at steel mills, power plants, and similar facilities, providing the optimal cost-performance ratio

· 9+1 and larger configurations: Suitable for large fleets of more than 50 vehicles and high-frequency, multi-vehicle applications such as trunk logistics and urban distribution, maximizing service capacity

In addition, EAX has introduced the Magic Box Battery-Swapping Station—a compact, containerized modular design that occupies little space, requires no complex infrastructure, and supports rapid deployment and flexible relocation. It provides a “plug-and-play” solution for implementing vehicle-battery separation at temporary operating sites, construction sites, logistics parks, and other flexible environments. The Magic Box Battery-Swapping Station can complete the entire process from site selection to operation within a very short period, removing traditional constraints such as long station construction cycles and demanding site-selection requirements.

V. Implementation Challenges and Solutions

5.1 Standardized Interoperability: Unifying Battery Pack Specifications/Interfaces/Communication Protocols

The greatest implementation challenge facing vehicle-battery separation is the standardized interoperability of battery packs. Battery packs from different vehicle manufacturers currently differ significantly in dimensions, interfaces, and communication protocols. A battery cannot be used across heavy-duty trucks of different brands, directly limiting the cross-model service capacity of battery-swapping stations and the circulation efficiency of battery assets.

However, the standardization process is accelerating. In August 2024, the Technical Specifications for Battery-Swapping Stations and Battery-Swapping Vehicles for Electric Heavy-Duty Trucks officially came into effect, providing a technical basis for standardized development. Article 16 of the 2026 plan issued by eleven government departments explicitly states: “Accelerate the unification, standardization, compatibility, and interoperability of key technical standards for charging and battery-swapping systems, vehicle interfaces, and communication protocols, and improve the cross-brand and cross-model adaptability of charging and battery-swapping facilities.” This means battery pack standardization has become a national priority, and the removal of interoperability barriers is progressing from “industry consensus” toward “policy requirements.”

5.2 Network Coverage: Battery-Swapping Station Density Determines the Vehicle-Battery Separation Experience

The user experience of vehicle-battery separation directly depends on the coverage density of battery-swapping stations. If the network is insufficiently dense, users must spend additional time and transportation capacity searching for a station, reducing the efficiency advantage of vehicle-battery separation.

The plan issued by eleven government departments provides a clear roadmap: By 2030, approximately 3,000 heavy-duty truck charging and battery-swapping stations will be supported and guided for construction; 30,000 kilometers of zero-carbon road transportation corridors will be developed along priority sections of the national expressway network; and newly constructed or renovated expressway service areas must build heavy-duty truck charging and battery-swapping facilities simultaneously or reserve the necessary installation conditions. This coverage plan provides national infrastructure support for the vehicle-battery separation model to expand from isolated pilot projects into network-based operations.

At the enterprise level, EAX is accelerating the large-scale deployment of its battery-swapping station network. Supported by the production and delivery capacity of its 30,000+ square meter Yangzhou mass-production center and a 24/7 rapid-response after-sales maintenance system, EAX’s battery-swapping station shipments have doubled annually since mass production began. From core components to complete station equipment, EAX has achieved full-stack independent development, providing both production capacity and technical assurance for the rapid expansion of the battery-swapping station network.

5.3 Recommendations for Fleet Selection: Evaluate the Route First, Select the Ecosystem Second, and Choose the Vehicle Last

For fleet operators considering the vehicle-battery separation model, we offer the following practical recommendations:

Step 1: Evaluate the route first. Define the fleet’s primary operating route and scenario—port short-haul transportation, mining transportation, steel mill distribution, or trunk logistics. Daily mileage, operating frequency, and dwell time differ substantially between scenarios and directly determine the required battery-swapping station configuration and service capacity.

Step 2: Select the ecosystem. Vehicle-battery separation is not simply a combination of “buying a vehicle + leasing a battery.” It is an ecosystem requiring coordination among battery asset management companies, battery-swapping station operators, financial institutions, and other parties. Select a partner with complete ecosystem capabilities—from battery-swapping station hardware and digital energy management platforms to full-lifecycle battery management and operation and maintenance support. The completeness of the ecosystem determines the operational stability and long-term returns of the vehicle-battery separation model.

Step 3: Choose the vehicle last. After defining the route and ecosystem, select a vehicle model and battery specification compatible with the battery-swapping ecosystem. Prioritize battery pack specifications incorporated into standardized systems to ensure future cross-model service capacity across the battery-swapping network and the circulation of battery assets.

As an all-scenario battery-swapping solution provider, EAX can provide customers with full-stack products and services covering battery-swapping station hardware, digital energy management platforms, and core components. Supported by more than 100 independently owned intellectual property rights and a technical foundation in which R&D personnel account for over 40% of the workforce, EAX provides full-lifecycle support—from planning and delivery to operation and maintenance—for implementing the vehicle-battery separation model.

Conclusion

From RMB 850,000 to RMB 400,000, and from “cannot afford to buy” to “can afford to swap,” vehicle-battery separation is rewriting the new energy heavy-duty truck market through a fundamental restructuring of the business model. Strong support from policies issued by eleven government departments, the accelerating participation of financial institutions, and the large-scale deployment of battery-swapping infrastructure are converging to create a historic turning point at which vehicle-battery separation is moving from “proof of concept” toward “large-scale implementation.”

Battery-swapping stations are the critical support for this transformation—without efficient battery-swapping infrastructure, vehicle-battery separation remains only a blueprint. Through its complete portfolio of multi-position battery-swapping stations and Magic Box Battery-Swapping Stations, EAX provides all-scenario energy replenishment support for vehicle-battery separation, covering hardware and software as well as standardized and customized solutions. This turns “can afford to swap” from a slogan into a verifiable, implementable, and sustainably profitable commercial reality.

The era of large-scale new energy heavy-duty truck adoption has arrived. Vehicle-battery separation is the key that opens the door.