World's First Sodium-Ion Battery EV Unveiled in China

A New Era for Electric Vehicle Batteries

CATL, the world's largest electric vehicle battery manufacturer, and Chinese automaker Changan Automobile have jointly unveiled the Changan Nevo A06 in Yakeshi, Inner Mongolia, marking the global debut of the first mass-produced passenger vehicle powered entirely by sodium-ion batteries. The companies have announced plans for a market launch by mid-2026.

The Naxtra Battery

The sedan is equipped with a forty-five kilowatt-hour CATL Naxtra sodium-ion battery pack, delivering up to four hundred kilometres of range on the China Light-Duty Test Cycle. The cells achieve an energy density of one hundred and seventy-five watt-hours per kilogram, putting them roughly on par with mainstream lithium iron phosphate batteries that currently dominate China's EV market.

Cold Weather Champion

The technology's standout feature is its exceptional cold-weather performance. At minus thirty degrees Celsius, the battery's discharge power is nearly triple that of equivalent lithium iron phosphate batteries. At minus forty degrees, capacity retention remains above ninety percent, and power output stays stable at temperatures as low as minus fifty degrees Celsius.

Strategic Significance

Sodium is far more abundant and cheaper than lithium, addressing growing concerns about lithium supply constraints. Lithium carbonate prices in China recently surged to a two-year high near one hundred and eighty thousand yuan per tonne in late January 2026, driven by policy changes and supply concerns. CATL has invested nearly ten billion yuan in sodium-ion research and development since 2016, developing some three hundred thousand test cells with a team of over three hundred researchers.

Looking Ahead

As CATL's exclusive sodium-ion battery partner, the Naxtra batteries will be supplied across all Changan brands, including Avatr, Deepal, Qiyuan, and UNI. The company expects range to increase to five hundred to six hundred kilometres as the sodium-ion supply chain matures. The batteries have already passed China's new national safety standard for EV traction batteries, becoming the first sodium-ion batteries to achieve this certification.