Sodium comes in seawater, in table salt, in the Earth's crust. Lithium, by contrast, sits deep in Chilean salt lakes and Congolese mines. So why do nearly all electric car batteries worldwide rely on lithium? Because lithium worked better electrochemically. That is changing: since February 2026, the Changan Nevo A06, the first mass-produced passenger electric vehicle powered by a sodium-ion battery, has rolled off assembly lines. CATL, the world's largest battery manufacturer, produces the cells.
Sodium instead of lithium: what's behind the technology
A sodium-ion battery works on the same principle as a lithium-ion pack. Electrically charged ions travel between two electrodes during charging; when discharging, they return and generate current. The only difference: sodium ions carry the load instead of lithium ions.
This difference has profound consequences for raw material supply. Sodium is the sixth most abundant element in Earth's crust and approximately one thousand times more available than lithium, according to CATL. Lithium, by contrast, is geographically concentrated: roughly 60 percent of global reserves lie in South America's so-called lithium triangle, and processing is tied to a handful of supply chains. Price volatility is structurally built in.
CATL rates the Naxtra battery's energy density at 175 watt-hours per kilogram, calling it a record for sodium-ion cells in mass production. For comparison: modern lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which dominate affordable electric vehicles today, achieve 160 to 180 watt-hours per kilogram. The Naxtra sits in comparable territory.
Why now: cold advantage and cost competition
The most striking advantage of the sodium-ion cell lies not in energy density but in temperature behavior. At minus 40 degrees Celsius, the Naxtra retains more than 90 percent of its capacity and can discharge even to minus 50 degrees, according to CATL. LFP batteries lose considerably more at such temperatures because electrolyte viscosity rises sharply, slowing ion transport. In northern China, Siberia, and Scandinavia, winter temperatures below minus 30 degrees are routine.
The Changan Nevo A06 carries a 45-kilowatt-hour Naxtra battery and achieves over 400 kilometers of range, according to the manufacturer. It targets the price-sensitive entry market, where cold-weather reliability and affordable pricing must coexist. The International Energy Agency estimates that sodium-ion batteries are roughly 30 percent cheaper to manufacture than LFP cells given adequate production capacity. Whether this cost target materializes this year remains uncertain: current industry analysis suggests early Naxtra cells price closer to LFP than communicated, with the advantage fully emerging only at higher volumes.
In comparison: three battery technologies for three market tiers
The 2026 battery landscape divides into three segments. In the premium tier, Toyota, Samsung SDI, and QuantumScape work on solid-state batteries promising higher energy density and better safety. Series production is expected no sooner than 2027 to 2030. These cells will remain expensive and first appear in premium vehicles.
In the middle market, NMC batteries (nickel-manganese-cobalt) dominate, combining high energy density with acceptable cost but requiring critical raw materials. Roughly 70 percent of global cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where mining conditions have faced sustained criticism.
At the lower end, where the largest growth market sits, LFP and now sodium-ion batteries compete. HiNa Battery, another Chinese company, has supplied sodium-ion cells for stationary energy storage since 2023 but has yet to power a series production passenger car. CATL is the first manufacturer to take this step. For cold climates and long-term stationary storage, sodium has much to recommend it; for warm to moderate climates, LFP remains the near-term choice for maturity and price.
60 gigawatt-hours by year-end: what the roadmap promises
CATL has announced plans to build annual production capacity of 60 gigawatt-hours for sodium-ion cells by the end of 2026. 60 gigawatt-hours equals batteries for roughly 1.3 million electric vehicles with a 45-kilowatt-hour pack. China produced around 9 million electric vehicles in total in 2024.
For 2026, CATL plans initially 10,000 to 20,000 vehicles fitted with Naxtra batteries, a cautious ramp to test the supply chain and quality assurance in series production. The announced 60 gigawatt-hours target is considered ambitious: large-scale battery production ramps have repeatedly taken longer than announced, and Sodium Battery Hub analysts have explicitly noted that cost advantages only fully materialize at higher volumes.
What is certain: the step from laboratory to series vehicle is taken. Solid-state batteries and other alternative concepts have yet to accomplish this. Whether sodium-ion cells ultimately become as cheap and as scalable as promised, the market will answer over the next two years.