Taiwan EV firms expand into Southeast Asia with battery-swapping push

Bangkok, April 2 (CNA) Taiwanese electric scooter firms are expanding into Southeast Asia, banking on battery-swapping technology to meet rising demand amid higher fuel prices and urban pollution.

Speaking at The Economist's annual Sustainability Week Asia in Bangkok last week, Gogoro CEO Henry Chiang (姜家煒) said Taiwan's battery-swapping model could provide a solution for Asian cities struggling with pollution and dependence on gasoline-powered motorcycles.

"Nineteen of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in Asia, and the five noisiest cities are also in Asia," Chiang said.

He argued that traditional charging systems face major obstacles in the scooter market, including limited urban space and long charging times, adding that Gogoro's 11 years of experience in Taiwan show battery swapping can overcome many of those challenges.

Founded in 2011, Gogoro has built more than 2,700 battery-swapping stations across Taiwan, serves over 650,000 riders and handles around 370,000 battery swaps per day. The network has also been integrated into a virtual power plant to help manage electricity demand.

This year, Gogoro plans to launch a pilot program in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in the second quarter, targeting a market where annual motorcycle sales exceed 3 million units, Chiang told CNA.

Meanwhile, Thai-Taiwanese joint venture Aionex has also launched two new electric scooter models in Bangkok, saying high fuel prices could encourage more consumers and businesses to switch to electric vehicles.

Aionex CEO Gary Ting (丁學文) said future competition in the EV sector will go beyond vehicle sales. "The next stage of competition will be about integrated solutions that combine data, vehicles and energy infrastructure," Ting told CNA in a recent interview.

Both Gogoro and Aionex see Thailand and Vietnam as key battlegrounds where Taiwan's battery-swapping technology and solution could gain a larger regional role.

According to the Federation of Thai Industries, domestic BEV sales surged 80% last year to 120,301 units.