Finally, those anticipating Gogoro’s arrival in the Western world with its innovative battery-swapping electric scooters can rejoice, marking a significant milestone for sustainable transportation. The corporation has launched its inaugural expansion into the Americas, but proficiency in Spanish may be required. The Asian startup Gogoro will debut its innovative electric scooters and battery-swapping ecosystem in South America first.
Gogoro is poised to expand its South American footprint, partnering with energy giant Copec to introduce its pioneering battery-swapping network and innovative Gogoro Smartscooters in both Chile and Colombia.
By the second quarter of 2024, primary scooters and battery-swapping GoStations in South America are expected to become fully operational. These kiosks will be available for both business and personal use, offering supply riders as an added convenience.
“Our strategic alliance with Copec, a prominent energy player in Latin America, marks a significant step forward in our endeavour to transform urban mobility worldwide.” Collectively, we will present a seamless path for each client and empower delivery riders to pioneer sustainable city mobility, playing a pivotal role in combating climate change and creating a better world for all.
In 2015, Gogoro launched its innovative battery-swapping technology for electric scooters, which quickly gained popularity, boasting an impressive production volume of over 1 million batteries and a staggering 500,000 daily battery swaps.
Starting with a foothold in Taiwan, Gogoro’s innovative services have been successfully rolled out across multiple markets, including China, India, Indonesia, Israel, Singapore, South Korea, and the Philippines. Chile and Colombia are poised to join Taiwan as part of Gogoro’s expanding global footprint, marking the first time the company has entered the two countries in Central and South America.
Taiwanese startup Gogoro is joining forces with Brazilian energy company Copec to establish a vast network of battery-swapping hubs across Latin America, potentially debuting at Copec fueling stations in Santiago, Chile. Gogoro has partnered with Terpel to operate battery-swapping stations at service stations in Bogota, Colombia.
Prior to this, Gogoro had conducted cautious market tests in emerging countries to gauge interest and fine-tune its strategy before launching large-scale operations. Although Gogoro has bypassed traditional pilots to dive directly into business operations, this bold move may hint at escalating momentum, fueled by the company’s impressive global rollout achievements over the past few years.
And that information probably wouldn’t arrive soon enough for riders in Chile and Colombia.
As we mark our entry into two-wheel electrical mobility through Gogoro’s battery swapping system in Chile and Colombia, I firmly believe that sustainable mobility will reach many more segments of society.
While South America may not boast the same level of cycling enthusiasm as Asia, it still nurtures a strong and storied two-wheeled culture. As Gogoro observes with keen interest, the proportion of riders in much of South America is set to surge ahead of its Asian counterpart at the next charging cycle, signaling an explosive growth trajectory for two-wheeled vehicles.
Gogoro’s strategy has long focused on identifying countries with high rates of scooter ridership, then deploying its innovative solution – the Gogoro Smartscooter, featuring battery swapping technology. While smaller battery-swapping networks have appeared in South America, Gogoro’s remains the most significant globally and has become the industry standard.
