Kuehne+Nagel and CATL have signed a Memorandum of Understanding covering battery logistics, transport electrification, and emissions reduction, with first projects set for Europe and China through 2026.

The agreement spans four workstreams: electrifying CATL's European road transport flows, a heavy-duty truck battery-swapping pilot in China using technology from Qiji, joint exploration of battery recycling and aftersales, and energy storage plus charging solutions at logistics facilities. Neither company disclosed investment value, vehicle counts, or route lists.

What's the China pilot?

CATL and K+N will run a heavy-duty truck battery-swap pilot in China in 2026, with swap hardware from Qiji. The pilot sits at the center of the partnership's commercial logic: cell-swapping cuts dwell time at depots, which has been the single biggest drag on BEV trucking economics in long-haul segments.

The companies framed the swap approach as a step toward making electric trucks operationally viable at fleet scale, not just for short urban loops. China heavy-haul is where the swap model runs cleanest on unit economics today, and Qiji is already a swap-network player there.

What's driving the timing?

Demand for electric-truck batteries rose more than 75% in 2024, according to figures cited by the two companies. Global battery manufacturing capacity continues to expand on the same trajectory. Together those numbers describe a market that's stopped being experimental.

For K+N, that 75% figure is the commercial case for a structured cell-and-truck tie-up rather than ad-hoc procurement. For CATL, it's a route into shipper-direct freight demand for its cells, bypassing pure OEM channels.

What does K+N bring?

Road logistics scale and a customer book heavy with Europe's largest Scope 3 reporters. Søren Schmidt, Executive Vice President of Road Logistics at Kuehne+Nagel, called battery-electric vehicles essential to decarbonising road freight.

"Accelerating the transition requires solutions that are both high-performing and operationally viable," Schmidt said. He added that pairing CATL's cell technology with K+N's transport network could cut emissions from internal operations and from shipper customers alike.

What does CATL bring?

Cell manufacturing capacity and a Qiji swap stack for Class 8 trucks. Akin Li, Executive President of CATL Overseas Business, framed the deal as a sector leadership play.

"As global leaders in our respective industries, CATL and Kuehne+Nagel share a commitment to accelerating the energy transition and achieving a net-zero emissions future," Li said.

What does it mean commercially?

• For shippers: a working template for Scope 3 reporting on road legs, with a tier-one forwarder willing to underwrite chassis and routing.
• For European road hauliers: a likely acceleration of BEV adoption pressure, with K+N as the catalyst.
• For ports and hubs: charging and storage build-outs at K+N sites will force new capex decisions on terminal operators.
• For competing forwarders: a public benchmark on electrified road product, since ambitions are stated openly.

What's missing from the announcement?

Vehicle counts on European CATL flows, swap-station density in China, total investment scale, and any timeline beyond the initial projects. The MoU is a framework, not an order book, so commercial terms stay open too.

Scope 3 reporting pressure on European shippers gives both companies a regulatory tailwind worth as much as any direct subsidy. Watch for route-level disclosures on CATL's European flows in 2026 and for Qiji station buildout milestones ahead of the China pilot launch.