Cycle & Carriage (C&C) has announced the official launch of Gogoro’s range of electric scooters in Singapore on Oct 16, with the opening of their new showroom at Ubi, along with the introduction of Gogoro’s network of battery swapping technology for their bikes.
Who is Gogoro?
Gogoro is a Taiwanese company that specialises in electric motorcycles and scooters, but they are also pioneers in battery swapping technology for two-wheelers. They currently have a network of 12,500 battery swapping stations at over 2,500 locations in Taiwan, with 1.4 million portable batteries in circulation serving over 610,000 riders.
In addition, Gogoro has presence in over 50 cities globally, and the company works with several other vehicle makers to provide their battery swapping tech for their vehicles as well.
How does the battery swapping work?
All of Gogoro’s electric bikes and scooters feature the company’s proprietary electric battery swapping system, which consists of two removable battery packs under the seat.
To swap out the batteries, the rider has to ride to a battery swapping station, called GoStation, remove the batteries from the bike, and insert them into an available slot in.
The system will then provide two fresh batteries for the bike to be used, with Gogoro promising that the most optimally charged batteries will be given to the rider.
The used batteries will then be charged at the station, and the entire process takes just a few seconds. Gogoro says that this reduces downtime for riders, and is perfect for services like food delivery where riders need to get back on the road quickly.
The batteries are not included with the bikes upon purchase, and all batteries are provided from the GoStation via a monthly subscription package that starts from $70 a month, which includes unlimited battery swaps.
In Singapore, C&C and Gogoro will start with a network of four battery swapping stations and 100 batteries by the first quarter of 2025.
The GoStations will be operated and maintained by SP Mobility, a subsidiary of SP Group, and Gogoro has also partnered with Shell to install battery swapping stations at selected Shell service stations.
SP Mobility will also work with C&C to install more battery swap stations in other locations across Singapore in the coming months.
What Gogoro scooters did C&C launch in Singapore?
C&C and Gogoro launched three models at the event: the Viva Max, Premium and SuperSport. Pricing have not been finalised as the models are still pending approval from the Land Transport Authority (LTA), but they are expected to range from between $6,000 to $9,000, excluding COE and the cost of the battery package.
Wilfrid Foo, C&C managing director, said at the launch that he expects the majority of sales to come from fleet or corporate sales, reported The Business Times.
All three models produce less than 20.1hp, which means they can be ridden by those with a Class 2B motorcycle licence.
The entry-level Viva Max has a power output of 8hp, and a range of 150km when equipped with a set of fully charged batteries. The Premium meanwhile has 8.4hp, while the SuperSport has 9.7hp, with both offering a range of 170km with a full set of batteries.
The launch of Gogoro in Singapore comes following an eight-month sandbox trial in 2023 between the company, C&C, the LTA and food delivery company FoodPanda to explore the feasibility of battery swapping technology for riders of electric motorcycles and scooters here.
The trial was deemed a success, with users finding the lower upfront costs of the bikes, the fixed usage cost of the battery subscription package, and the minimal downtime needed for battery swapping particularly appealing.
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benjamin.chia@asiaone.com
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