Taiwan’s Gogoro to enter Philippine market in 2023

Urban electric scooter and battery-swapping platform Gogoro Inc. is set to enter the Philippines in the first quarter of 2023, through a partnership with Globe Telecom Inc.’s wholly-owned subsidiary 917Ventures and Ayala Corp.

The partnership will bring Gogoro Smartscooters in Manila in the first quarter of 2023, powered by the Swap & Go battery swapping platform which uses stations to change used batteries for new ones.

“We are excited to contribute to a high-quality consortium focused on enhancing mobility through sustainable solutions, which aligns with our broader decarbonization and digital transformation ambitions,” Ayala Corp. chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said in an emailed statement.

Founded in Taiwan in 2011, Gogoro is a Nasdaq-listed firm which offers battery swapping ecosystems. It ended the third-quarter with $102.2 million in revenues, and a net income of $56.4 million.

It currently has over 11,000 battery swapping stations across over 2,260 locations in Taiwan, where over 1 million batteries were in circulation. The company’s network has some 520,000 riders who conduct 370,000 battery swaps daily.

“Through our collaboration with Globe, 917Ventures and Ayala Corporation, we plan to unlock incredible environmental and sustainability benefits and introduce new smart mobility efficiencies for businesses by improving how they manage their fleets and deliveries,” Gogoro founder and CEO Horace Luke said.

According to the Department of Energy’s Energy Utilization Management Bureau Director Patrick Aquino, Metro Manila will benefit from the positive response seen in Taiwan where over 25% of the deliveries are powered by battery-swapping technology.

“[W]e see this solution will be most beneficial to a densely populated region like Metro Manila, which is also the hub of business districts,” he said.

“The success of this pilot will pave the way for a new sustainable business model in other cities in the country as well,” he added.

Shares in Globe closed Tuesday, November 29, up P16.00 or 0.70% at P2,300.00 apiece, while those in Ayala Corp. closed P4.00 or 0.57% lower at P696.00 apiece. Trading was suspended on Wednesday, November 30, in commemoration of the Bonifacio Day.—AOL, GMA Integrated News