Gogoro founder and Chief Executive Officer Horace Luke (陸學森, center)
Taipei, Oct. 17 (CNA) Gogoro Inc., a Taiwan-based electric scooter company, said Wednesday it will share its battery-swapping facilities with two other domestic companies that are planning to launch electric scooter models next year.
Through the partnership with Aeon Motor Co. and PGO Scooters, a larger business model of electric mobility could become a reality, said Gogoro founder and Chief Executive Officer Horace Luke (陸學森).
"Electric mobility will trigger a wave of new industries and possibilities," he said, adding that the partnerships will help expand Gogoro's business.
The decision followed an announcement by Gogoro in September that it had agreed to manufacture electric scooters for the Japanese firm Yamaha Motor Co. and offer similar battery swapping services.
Currently, Gogoro has 100,000 users in Taiwan, with usage of its battery swapping system averaging one swap per second across its 800 GoStations, according to Luke.
Aeon Motor CEO Tony Lin (林東閔) said the company had been mulling a partnership with Gogoro since 2016 and decided on the battery swapping solution because it is the most convenient and economic way to keep electric scooters powered.
Aeon Motor will release its first-generation electric motorbikes next summer, while PGO Scooters will do so in the latter half of 2019, both to be compatible with Gogoro's battery swapping stations.
Meanwhile, DHL Express said Wednesday it has added 15 new Gogoro 2 Utility scooters to its delivery fleet in Taiwan, which is now 33 percent electric.
The scooters have been deployed at DHL's Service Centers along the west coast of Taiwan and are expected to help cut carbon emissions by 5,984 kilograms per year, said Mike Lu (盧嘉棟), vice president of DHL Operations.
He said partnering with Gogoro to use electric scooters is an important step toward DHL's goal of creating zero emissions worldwide by 2050.
Gogoro is also planning to bid for the contract to supply Chunghwa Post Co., Taiwan's official postal service, with a fleet of electric scooters for mail delivery, according to Luke.
Earlier this year, Chunghwa Post replaced 1,627 of its 8,946 gas-powered scooters with electric models and plans to phase out the rest by 2023.
Currently, only two of the 1,627 electric scooters are Gogoro models, Chunghwa Post said.
(By Lee Hsin-Yin)
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