GAC Aion RT Super: the new sedan with swappable battery from the Chinese manufacturer

GAC Aion has just launched a new version of the Aion RT electric sedan in its local market, whose main novelty is the implementation of fast battery-swap technology. This is the Aion RT Super, which uses the Chocolate-Swap system developed by CATL, and whose battery pack is available exclusively on a rental basis, thereby significantly reducing the vehicle’s selling price.

The GAC Aion RT, in its conventional version without a swappable battery, has been on sale in the Chinese market since September 2024. With dimensions of 4.87 metres long, 1.88 metres wide and 1.52 metres high, and a wheelbase of 2.78 metres, this sedan features a single electric motor delivering 150 kW, paired with an LFP battery pack supplied by CATL in two capacities to choose from: 55.1 or 68.1 kWh. In the new Super version with swappable battery, the battery pack it integrates is also from CATL, but its capacity is slightly reduced to 54 kWh.

According to some reports published in Chinese media, the swappable battery pack of this new Super version offers a range of 505 kilometres, under the Chinese CLTC homologation cycle, which, as we already know, tends to be quite optimistic with the range figures it offers. In addition to allowing swapping, this battery pack supports conventional fast charging, which makes it possible to raise the battery’s state of charge from 30 to 80 percent in about 26 minutes.

A truly affordable sedan

The price of the Aion RT Super starts at 88,800 yuan in the Chinese market, which at the current exchange rate comes to roughly 11,130 euros. This price, obviously, does not include the battery pack, which, as we have already said, is obtained exclusively on a rental basis for an additional monthly payment. Unlike other Chinese manufacturers such as NIO, which allow customers in their local market to either rent or buy the battery pack, with this model it cannot be purchased together with the vehicle.

GAC’s battery-swap system implemented on the new Aion RT Super stands out for its speed. At compatible swap stations, the driver can replace a low-charge battery with a fully recharged one in just 90 seconds. The Aion RT Super is compatible with CATL’s entire Choco Swap network, which currently has stations equipped with between 14 and 30 batteries of the standardised #20 and #25 types (with LFP and NMC chemistry). CATL plans to surpass 3,000 stations of this type by the end of the year and aims to build a nationwide network of 30,000 points in the long term, using a franchise model to accelerate its expansion.