Electric scooter maker Gogoro Inc (睿能創意) this year expects its number of electric battery swapping stations to outstrip the number of gas stations in the nation following seven years of deployment, a sign that electric two-wheelers are gaining traction.
As of the end of last year, Gogoro had built 2,215 GoStations nationwide, mostly in urban areas, up from 1,937 in 2020.
The number of gas stations operated by CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) was 2,487.
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
“By the end of this year, we are very confident that the number of battery swapping stations will surpass the number of gas stations nationwide,” Gogoro vice president for energy services Alan Pan (潘璟倫) told a news conference yesterday.
Gorogo aims to deploy more large-scale electric battery swapping stations, dubbed Super GoStations, and other stations in collaboration with government agencies, Pan said.
The company also plans to add battery stations in more remote areas, he said.
Gogoro’s 453,300 riders can swap batteries at GoStations located in 7-Eleven convenience stores, and even one in Nantou County’s Wuling (武嶺) on Hehuanshan (合歡山), the highest highway in Taiwan.
New vehicle sales by Gogoro and its partners in the Powered by Gogoro Network (PBGN) contracted 5.2 percent year-on-year to 93,999 units last year, outperforming the overall scooter market, in which sales plunged 21.9 percent year-on-year.
PBGN members include Yamaha Motor Co, Aeon Motor Co (宏佳騰), Motive Power Industry Co (摩特動力) and Suzuki Motor Corp.
Gogoro chief product officer Peng Ming-i (彭明義) expects new electric vehicle sales to return to growth this year.
The penetration rate of electric scooters is also forecast to climb this year, compared with 11.6 percent last year, up from 9.6 percent in 2020.
Peng declined to provide further forecasts ahead of Gogoro’s debut on the US market.
Gogoro, Yamaha, Aeon and Suzuki are scheduled to launch new models later this year, which would also provide growth momentum.
Anna Bhobho, a 31-year-old housewife from rural Zimbabwe, was once a silent observer in her home, excluded from financial and family decisionmaking in the deeply patriarchal society. Today, she is a driver of change in her village, thanks to an electric tricycle she owns. In many parts of rural sub-Saharan Africa, women have long been excluded from mainstream economic activities such as operating public transportation. However, three-wheelers powered by green energy are reversing that trend, offering financial opportunities and a newfound sense of importance. “My husband now looks up to me to take care of a large chunk of expenses,
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