Taiwanese tech company Gogoro has officialy announced the start of the test run of its battery-swapping technology and electric scooters in the Philippines through a partnership with Globe Group’s 917Ventures and Ayala Corp.
At a press event on Monday, April 24, at the Globe Tower in Taguig City, top executives from Gogoro and Globe announced that Gogoro’s battery-swapping stations and SmartScooter electric motorcycles will become available to the public in the last quarter of the year.
Gogoro said its goal for the Philippines is to recreate the success they had in Taiwan and produce sustainable options for travel using its battery-swapping stations and Smartscooters. In addition to Taiwan and the Philippines, Gogoro is also operating in China, India, Japan, Indonesia, Korea and Israel.
“Gogoro has 540,000 riders and has deployed more than one million smart batteries at 12,000 battery-swapping stations. Gogoro riders have made more than 450 million total swaps at 400,000 per day. Gogoro has saved more than 627,000 tons of carbon emissions since its launch,” Gogoro founder Horace Luke said.
Gogoro said its SmartScooters have biometric security, auto handle lock, digital traction control, grip tires, turn signal reset, and many more. The company said its more expensive models offer more advanced features. The e-scooters can travel with speeds of 70 km to 170 km per hour.
At the event, Gogoro and Globe announced that opening of the first battery-changing station at Globe Tower which 70 Globe employers can use to test the product and review it for the next two months.
The pilot period is aimed at allowing Gogoro to evaluate and review the e-scooters and the battery-swapping system and make the necessary changes to provide the best customer satisfaction in time for the official release in Q4.
“The Gogoro ecosystem is very convenient as its swap-and-go technology allows riders to swap out depleted batteries for charged ones in just seconds and go on their way. With the current traffic situation in the metro, these Smartscooters will serve as an eco-friendly alternative to ease congestion while at the same time reducing carbon emissions,” said Bernie Llamzon, Globe Capital Venture Holdings Inc. director.
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