BYD, Chery, CATL, GAC... Almost every few days, one company releases news: the pilot line has been put into production, the prototype car has been taken offline, and it will be installed next year. A battle for the "next generation battery" has already begun.

But the question is - how long do consumers have to wait? Will buying a tram now become an 'old model' as soon as it lands?

Car companies rush to run: 'Shout slogans' in 2026,' Real cars' in 2027

In this round of competition, Chery is the most urgent. On the "Battery Night" on March 18, 2026, Chery promised to launch targeted operation and vehicle installation in the fourth quarter of 2026, and mass market launch in 2027. The "Rhino S" all solid state battery released by it adopts sulfide electrolyte and metal lithium negative electrode technology, with a single energy density exceeding 600Wh/kg (laboratory value), and can achieve a range of over 1500 kilometers in the future, with a range of 500 kilometers after 8 minutes of charging.

BYD is more 'stable'. The sulfide all solid state battery pilot line located in Shenzhen has been put into operation and is now being matched with real vehicle testing. The mass production line in Chongqing is also under construction. BYD plans to achieve small-scale mass production in the third quarter of 2026, launch batch demonstration vehicle applications in 2027, and achieve large-scale commercialization after 2030.

Guangzhou Automobile Group, Geely, Changan, Dongfeng, SAIC, and FAW Hongqi will promote their products to the public from the end of 2026 to 2027.

Among them, Guangzhou Automobile Group's all solid state battery pilot line has been successfully built and put into operation, with the ability to mass manufacture vehicles with a capacity of over 60Ah. Guangzhou Automobile Group plans to achieve mass production and installation of all solid state batteries by 2026, and will be the first to be equipped with its high-end brand Haobo.

Geely Automobile announced in January 2026 that it will complete the production of its first self-developed all solid state battery pack and initiate vehicle validation by 2026, achieve small-scale industrialization by 2027, and complete mass market launch on high-end models by 2030.

Changan Automobile is expected to complete the vehicle validation of the Golden Bell Cover solid-state battery (currently planned to be installed in robots) before the third quarter of 2026. The all solid state battery will be demonstrated on a small scale in 2027 and gradually commercialized after 2030.

Dongfeng Motor has completed the construction of a 0.2GWh solid-state battery pilot line and plans to mass produce and install a new generation of 350Wh/kg solid-liquid hybrid battery in September 2026, which can achieve a range of 1000 kilometers.

SAIC Group announced that all solid state batteries will be mass-produced and delivered by 2026, and the Zhiji new car equipped with all solid state batteries will be mass-produced and launched in 2027.

FAW Hongqi announced in January 2026 that the first prototype of its independently developed all solid state battery had been successfully produced, and the battery cells equipped had passed the extreme heat abuse test at 200 degrees Celsius.

Toyota had the earliest layout and the biggest voice, but its production pace was conservative: small-scale trial production in 2026 and large-scale production after 2030. Honda and Nissan have similar rhythms.

It can be seen that 2026 is a year when various brands are "shining", but the truly all solid state vehicle models that ordinary consumers can buy will not be available until at least the end of 2027 or even 2028.

Battery factory supports: Sulfides are the 'main focus'

As of March 2026, the progress of top battery manufacturers is equally astonishing.

CATL has built a pilot production line for sulfide solid-state batteries and plans to achieve small-scale mass production by 2027. Its condensed state semi-solid battery ("polymer+oxide" composite route) will be widely equipped with NIO ET9 by the end of 2026, with a range of over 1200 kilometers.

Yiwei Lithium Energy will officially launch the "Longquan No. 3" and "Longquan No. 4" solid-state batteries at its Chengdu base in March 2026. Among them, "Longquan No. 4" is aimed at the power field, with a battery capacity of 60Ah, and has preliminary potential for practical application at the vehicle level.

Guoxuan High tech, Xinwangda, Funeng Technology, Honeycomb Energy, and others are also continuously increasing their research and development of solid-state batteries. Xinwangda has clearly planned to launch the first generation of all solid state battery products in 2026 and the second generation in 2027.

From a technical perspective, the sulfide route is becoming an industry consensus. According to data from the High Tech Industry Research Institute, the market share of sulfide technology routes has reached 38% -40%. However, the sulfide route is extremely sensitive to air, and the production process requires extremely high standards. Industrialization relies on a system synergy of "materials+processes+packaging". In other words, whoever can truly break through the bottleneck of mass production on "sulfides" will be able to take the high ground in the next round of battery wars.

Consumers are most concerned: how long do I have to wait?

Faced with the overwhelming news of solid-state batteries, 'buy or wait'?

In the next two to three years, the main force in the market will be "semi-solid". Semisolid state batteries are transitional products from liquid to all solid state, with significantly improved performance: energy density of 350-400Wh/kg, range of over 1000 kilometers, and can be charged to 80% in 10 minutes. Chery, Dongfeng, NIO and other car companies' solid-liquid hybrid models will be launched successively this year.

The true popularization of all solid state technology will not be achieved until at least 2030. Many experts say that many people are now waiting for solid-state batteries, but electric vehicles are already very good now. All solid state batteries will be installed in 2027, but it may take five to ten years to truly form a scale and occupy 1% of the market share. Great Wall Motors' Wei Jianjun is more direct: "There is suspicion of hype in the current solid-state battery craze, and it will take at least five years to actually get on the car

Price barriers are difficult to break in the short term. In the short term, the current cost of a 100 kWh semi-solid state battery pack has exceeded 80000 yuan, while the cost of an all solid state battery is 3-5 times that of a traditional liquid lithium battery. This means that the first car models to be equipped with solid-state batteries in the next two years will be concentrated in the high-end market priced at over 300000 yuan; It is expected that the large-scale installation of ordinary household car models will not be achieved until 2028-2030.

It cannot be denied that solid-state batteries are the next generation technology, but their popularity will not be achieved overnight. The process is much longer than we think, and the industry leader is still unknown. The core value of automobiles lies in practicality and implementation. Instead of waiting for solid-state batteries to be installed for a long time, it is better to focus on the large-scale application of mature technology solutions at present.