(Taipei) Like hundreds of thousands of inhabitants of Taipei, Aiden Lee travels by scooter, but he never fills up and is content to change the battery in one of the many stations in the Taiwanese capital.
Posted at 8:32 p.m.
He is one of the 450,000 people who, daily, swap one of the batteries supplied, since 2015, by the Taiwanese start-up Gogoro. On average, some 330,000 batteries are exchanged every day, according to company figures.
E-bikes now represent 21% of two-wheelers in circulation on the island where sales of petrol models are experiencing a double-digit annual decline.
“Frankly, I will not use an electric two-wheeler without this battery exchange which is much faster than a full tank of gas at a service station”, recognizes this marketing manager.
“I don’t have time to wait for the battery to be recharged,” he explains, while estimating that it costs him, each month, around 10% more than filling up with gas.
Gogoro, which now aims to expand into Asia and be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has more than 2,300 stations across Taiwan. Located in front of local shops or in parking lots, moped riders stop there for a few minutes to exchange their empty battery for a fully charged one.
“Sustainability”
Many companies, especially in China, the United States and Israel, have embarked on the exchange of batteries, especially for electric cars, but have broken their teeth there. The cost of installations and the time required to load them are much greater.
This technology works best for motorcycles, argues Horace Luke, founder and chief executive of Gogoro, because the batteries and stations don’t need to be as large.
“Instead of an infrastructure for four wheels that has to be built, our system is a kind of vending machine that can be installed in different places, depending on the movements and needs of the consumer,” he explains.
These stations now outnumber four times the gas pumps in four major cities in Taiwan, according to Gogoro.
Last week, the vice-president of the start-up indicated at a press conference that the company aims, in 2022, to “exceed the number of service stations on the island”.
With over 240 million battery swaps since 2015, Gogoro claims to have prevented approximately 360,000 tonnes of CO emissions2 in the air.
“We are working on solutions […] as the world now turns to sustainability and how to slow down global warming,” Mr. Luke said.
India, China, Indonesia
Gogoro is now aiming to conquer the world’s largest motorcycle markets of China, India and Indonesia, where cities are regularly shrouded in a thick cloud of pollution.
The company has partnered with major players in the industry, including India’s Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest motorcycle maker, Yadea, China’s leading e-bike maker, and most recently Indonesia’s door-to-door transport company Gojek.
In China, its battery swap system was launched in October in the eastern city of Hangzhou, and it plans to expand to other locations this year.
In these different countries, the company could benefit from public aid for the development of electric vehicles.
Last year, India provided $3.5 billion in automotive subsidies to boost production of electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Indonesia has also offered tax breaks to manufacturers, transport companies and consumers wishing to get started.
Gogoro plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange this year by merging with an acquisition company, an entity expected to be worth $2.35 billion.
In 2020, global sales of electric bicycles, scooters and motorcycles amounted to 25 million units and accounted for 35% of total two-wheeler sales.
According to market research firm Guidehouse Insights, “battery swapping has become an exportable technology platform solution.”
Southeast Asian countries that “experience a strong two-wheeler culture, high urban density, supportive policies for two-wheelers as well as a strong desire to reduce air pollution will likely be next on the list” , according to this report.
“The battery swap was a real game-changer and continues to be,” concludes Luke.