CATL targets 100 cities for its global EV battery repair network

A battery dented in a crash can leave an electric car waiting for a full pack replacement, even when only a small section is damaged. CATL wants to make that outcome less common: at its Ning Day 2026 event in Haikou, China, the battery maker said its Ning Service repair network would expand to 100 cities worldwide by the end of 2026, with directly operated centres using robots to diagnose and repair packs.

The underlying idea is simple. Instead of treating the battery as a single replaceable object, technicians can use cell-to-pack repair to replace individual battery cells. CATL says it was among the first major battery makers to offer that approach. Its stated goal is to break the “replacement-only” cycle, which can turn small gouges or dents into a written-off pack and leave drivers facing higher insurance costs.

The operation is already larger than a single experiment. Eight CATL-run Ning Service centres have begun operating in China, with two international centres in Norway and Istanbul. The wider brand operates 1,376 franchised service centres across 84 countries and services 1,505 battery-swap stations in CATL’s Choco-SEB ecosystem. CATL says the latest centres can repair 76.8% of NEV models sold in China, up from 47% previously.

Automation is the pitch for speed. CATL says robots can cut, paint and apply adhesive to battery packs without human intervention, while its mobile electric repair trucks can perform 30 diagnostic items and 50 kinds of repairs. The trucks are designed to cover up to 90% of non-deep-repair scenarios, with Ning Service claiming some jobs could fall from 72 to 48 hours. More complex cell replacement, cell-level disassembly and pack refurbishment may still require a dedicated centre.

So what, concretely? If CATL delivers the promised rollout, EV owners in more markets could have an alternative to replacing an entire battery pack after localized damage. That could make battery repairs faster and potentially less expensive, while easing one concern around EV ownership: what happens when the battery needs work. The uncertainty is just as concrete. CATL has not disclosed specific repair prices, and it remains unclear how Ning Service will handle vehicles with cells from non-CATL suppliers.