Summary
- BAIC’s Arcfox has launched two battery-swappable electric cars in China on 13 November 2026: the Beta S3 535 Ultra+ LiDAR Swappable Edition and the Beta T1 Swappable Edition.
- Both cars use CATL’s Chocolate battery-swapping network, which swaps a depleted battery for a full one in 99 seconds — faster than any fast-charging stop.
- The Beta S3 is a mid-size saloon with a 192-line LiDAR driver-assistance system, 213 hp, and 535 km of CLTC range. It costs 78,800 yuan (about $11,800) with battery leasing.
- The Beta T1 is a compact city car starting at 52,000 yuan (about $7,800) with battery leasing, with a higher trim at 60,000 yuan (about $9,000).
- Buyers get 10,000 km of free battery-swapping mileage through 20 vouchers, including existing Beta S3 swap-edition owners who buy by 31 January 2027.
- Arcfox says the Beta S3 has been the best-selling saloon in the 100,000-yuan price band over the past four months, and 70% of its buyers choose the battery-leasing version.
Two New Cars, One Big Bet on Swapping
Arcfox is not trying to win the electric car race with a bigger battery. It is trying to win it by removing the battery from the equation altogether. On 13 November 2026, BAIC’s electric brand launched two new battery-swappable models in China: the Beta S3 535 Ultra+ LiDAR Swappable Edition, a mid-size saloon, and the Beta T1 Swappable Edition, a compact city car. Both run on CATL’s Chocolate battery-swapping network, known as Choco-Swap, where a robotic station removes a depleted pack and fits a charged one in 99 seconds.
The launch follows a strategic partnership Arcfox signed with CATL last month to build an open, shared battery-swapping ecosystem. That matters because swapping only works when the network is big enough to trust. CATL’s Choco-Swap network had already passed 2,520 stations across 200 Chinese cities by the end of September 2026, and the company expects to approach 3,000 stations by the end of the year.
The pricing shows how aggressive that bet is. The Beta T1 starts at 52,000 yuan, roughly $7,800, with battery leasing — a price that puts a brand-new swappable EV within reach of first-car buyers. The Beta S3 costs 78,800 yuan, about $11,800, again with the battery leased rather than bought outright. Battery leasing is the mechanism that makes these prices possible: buyers pay less up front and rent the pack, then swap it whenever it runs low. Arcfox says 70% of Beta S3 buyers already choose the leasing version, which suggests the model is working exactly as intended.
Beta S3: LiDAR, 213 HP, and a 99-Second Swap
The Beta S3 is the flagship of the pair, and its specification sheet reads like a car from a much higher price band. It carries Arcfox’s “star-ring” lighting signature with split headlights, a closed grille, a trapezoidal air intake, and a subtle rear spoiler. Inside, a 15.6-inch floating central touchscreen pairs with an 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster, both powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 chip.
The headline feature is the driver-assistance system. The Beta S3 uses Arcfox’s “Yuanjing” intelligent driving system, built around a 192-line LiDAR sensor and a Horizon Robotics Journey J6M chip. That combination supports high-speed Navigate on Autopilot, urban Navigate on Autopilot, and automated parking — features that, until recently, were reserved for cars costing two or three times as much in China.
Performance is solid rather than spectacular, which suits a family saloon. A front-wheel-drive permanent magnet synchronous motor produces 159 kW (213 hp) and 250 Nm of torque, taking the car from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.1 seconds, with a top speed of 165 km/h. Range is rated at 535 km on the CLTC cycle, roughly 433 km on the stricter WLTP measure. The car also supports conventional fast charging, but the 99-second swap is the feature Arcfox wants buyers to remember: drive in, swap the pack, drive out — in less time than it takes to fill a petrol tank.
Beta T1: A $7,800 City Car That Swaps Its Battery
The Beta T1 plays a different role. Where the S3 is a technology showcase, the T1 is a volume play: a compact, rounded city car designed to make battery swapping affordable for the widest possible audience. It uses Arcfox’s “Arc-Flow” design language, with a closed front grille, star-ring through-type lighting, C-shaped air ducts, and a wider rear base with through-type taillights.
Inside, the cabin uses a light-coloured “Cloud Rice” theme with a horizontal dashboard layout and the same 15.6-inch central screen and 8.8-inch instrument cluster as its bigger sibling. The car measures 4,337 mm long, 1,860 mm wide, and 1,572 mm tall, with a 2,770 mm wheelbase — compact on the outside, but with a wheelbase long enough to keep the cabin usable for four adults.
The powertrain is modest: a 95 kW (127 hp) motor built by Hunan CRRC Times Electric Drive Technology, a top speed of 150 km/h, and a lithium iron phosphate battery pack manufactured by CATL. The battery is the same swappable type used across the Choco-Swap network, so a T1 owner pulls into the same stations as an S3 owner. Two trims are offered with battery leasing, starting at 52,000 yuan (about $7,800) and rising to 60,000 yuan (about $9,000).
At that price, the T1 undercuts almost every other new EV with a swappable battery on the market. It is aimed squarely at city drivers and first-time buyers who want the convenience of a swap network without paying for a large battery they will rarely use in full. For a commuter who drives 30 or 40 km a day, a small leased pack plus a 99-second swap is arguably a better deal than a large owned battery that adds weight, cost, and charging time.
The Free-Swap Offer, and Why It Matters
Arcfox is sweetening the launch with a straightforward incentive: 10,000 km of free battery-swapping mileage, delivered as 20 swap vouchers, for Beta T1 buyers and for Beta S3 battery-swapping edition customers who purchase by 31 January 2027. Existing Beta S3 swap-edition owners are included too, which is a smart move — it rewards the early adopters who took a chance on the leasing model and keeps them inside the swap network.
The offer is also a quiet admission of the challenge swapping still faces. A swap network is only as good as its coverage, and while 2,520 stations is a large number, China is a very large country. Free mileage gets owners to try the stations and build the habit. If a swap point sits on their regular route, the 99-second swap becomes the car’s defining feature. If it does not, the owner still has fast charging as a fallback, which both cars support.
That dual approach — swap when you can, charge when you must — is what makes this launch more than a novelty. NIO proved years ago that swapping can work at the premium end of the market. Arcfox and CATL are now trying to prove it at the mass-market end, where the economics are far harder and the buyers far less forgiving.
What This Means Beyond China
Neither car is sold outside China today, and Arcfox has not announced export plans for either model. But the launch still matters for buyers elsewhere, because the ideas behind it are travelling fast. Battery leasing cuts the purchase price of an EV by thousands of dollars. Swapping removes the two biggest objections to EV ownership — charging time and battery degradation — in a single move. And CATL’s network, built with multiple car brands sharing the same stations, shows how swapping can scale without one company bearing the whole cost alone.
Chinese brands are already exporting aggressively. BYD’s luxury arm Denza has just launched in India with the Denza D9 electric MPV and the 1,140 hp Z9 GT shooting brake (https://techinkey.com/denza-d9-z9-gt-india-launch-november-13/), and Denza’s N8 EV launched with 1,193 hp and 1,003 km of range (https://techinkey.com/denza-n8-ev-launch-november-12-1193-hp/) only a day earlier. Genesis is pushing the other way on price, with the GV90 electric SUV going on sale in Korea with a 123.5 kWh battery and 500 km of range (https://techinkey.com/genesis-gv90-neolun-electric-suv-korea-launch/).
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the Arcfox Beta S3 battery-swapping edition?
A: It is a new version of Arcfox’s mid-size electric saloon, launched on 13 November 2026, that uses CATL’s Choco-Swap network to replace its depleted battery with a fully charged one in 99 seconds. It costs 78,800 yuan (about $11,800) with battery leasing.
Q: How much does the Arcfox Beta T1 cost?
A: The Beta T1 Swappable Edition starts at 52,000 yuan (about $7,800) with battery leasing, with a higher trim at 60,000 yuan (about $9,000). Both prices are for the Chinese market and assume the battery is leased rather than bought outright.
Q: How long does an Arcfox battery swap take?
A: A full battery swap on CATL’s Choco-Swap network takes 99 seconds, according to Arcfox and CarNewsChina. Both the Beta S3 and Beta T1 also support conventional fast charging for drivers who prefer to plug in.
Q: What is the range of the Arcfox Beta S3?
A: The Beta S3 535 Ultra+ LiDAR Swappable Edition is rated at 535 km on the CLTC cycle, which works out to roughly 433 km on the stricter WLTP measure. Its 159 kW motor produces 213 hp and takes the car from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.1 seconds.
Q: Are the Arcfox Beta S3 and Beta T1 available outside China?
A: No. Both cars launched in China only on 13 November 2026, and Arcfox has not announced export plans for either model. The battery-swapping network they rely on, CATL’s Choco-Swap, is also currently a China-only network.
Sources: CarNewsChina, “Arcfox launches new battery-swappable Beta S3 and Beta T1 models” (13 November 2026); PKRevenue, “Arcfox introduces two new battery-swapping EVs” (13 November 2026); Charjin, “CATL wants its swap stations to sell sodium-ion batteries in China” (11 November 2026).
