Gogoro Launches Electric Scooter, Battery-Swap Stations In India

(Bloomberg) -- Gogoro Inc. introduced its first electric scooter and battery-swapping stations in India as the Taiwanese company seeks to break into the world’s biggest two-wheeler market. 

It will roll out around 120 swap stations as well as scooters in Delhi, Pune, Mumbai and Goa by the middle of next year, Gogoro Chief Executive Officer Horace Luke said Tuesday. The scooter, CrossOver GX250, is powered by swappable batteries and initially, it will be available for delivery drivers only. By the second quarter of next year, Gogoro will start selling the two-wheeler to consumers.

Gogoro is manufacturing the electric scooter in the western state of Maharashtra with its partner Foxconn, Luke said. Both companies last year inked a deal with Indonesia and two local companies to spend about $8 billion for manufacturing electric vehicles in that country.

Battery swapping — a technology pioneered in China that allows drivers to exchange their batteries for charged ones in seconds — can help India electrify the world’s largest fleet of two- and three-wheelers. Decarbonizing transport in the South Asian nation is crucial to curb emissions in some of the planet’s most polluted cities and meet the country’s goal of becoming net carbon zero by 2070. 

Backed by Singapore’s state-owned investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte, Gogoro last month said it will work with Hindustan Petroleum Corp. to set up battery stations at some of its 21,000 gas outlets across India. 

Gogoro earlier this year signed a deal with Belrise Industries Ltd. to build battery-swapping stations for two-wheelers across Maharashtra with an investment of $2.5 billion over the next eight years. The companies plan to construct between 10,000 and 15,000 stations over the course of the agreement, starting with the 10 largest cities including Mumbai and Pune, Luke said in January. 

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