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Gogoro’s co-founder and CEO, Horace Luke, will “think big” about India, even as the Taiwanese company faces demanding situations in its home country.
India’s potential is apparently too ripe to ignore, and not just because it is the world’s largest two-wheeler market, where 15-20 million new two-wheelers hit the roads every year. Luke also sees the world’s populous country’s full potential as a launching pad that will fuel its global expansion into other markets. This is not a bad tactic, given that India is already becoming a competitive manufacturing hub for all major foreign brands and products, from smartphones to satellites.
Earlier this month, Gogoro made its first commercial entry into India with the introduction of its battery-swapping network and smartscooters after running pilots and investing millions of dollars in the country. Talking on the sidelines with Luke at the company’s event, it’s clear his ambitions stretch beyond this initial debut.
Founded in 2011 by former HTC executives Luke and Matt Taylor, Gogoro sees itself as the Android of all electric vehicles. It offers its own generation to other automakers while also promoting its own branded scooters with replaceable batteries. The company already operates in markets such as China, Indonesia, Singapore, Israel, and the Philippines, in addition to Taiwan.
The company has chosen India as a strategic market from where it can reach several new users and introduce new markets, starting with neighboring Nepal, Luke said in the company’s statement in New Delhi.
The new developments build on Gogoro’s previous announcements in India, adding the first battery swapping pilot in Delhi, a partnership with Belrise Industries to invest a total of $2. 5 billion in Maharashtra to build its infrastructure and battery swapping network in the Western Peninsula. State and a $25 million investment in electric fleet control startup Zypp Electric.
Gogoro is in talks with various local and global players to expand its business and presence in India, Luke stated without sharing any names. The company is already working with domestic manufacturers to produce its components locally, which it currently assembles at a facility in Maharashtra in partnership with Foxconn. It is also looking to partner with Indian and global automobile manufacturers who can deploy its technology, helping to grow its business in the country.
Gogoro Expands Battery Swapping to New Markets B2B Partners
The company has about 11 vehicle manufacturers in Taiwan that are building vehicles of different sizes and configurations based on its standard battery size, the executive said. These include the likes of Suzuki, Yamaha, and Aeonmotor, among others. He indicated that some of these may come to India along with Gogoro’s swappable battery technology over time.
“Everybody’s waiting for me to bring the net,” Luke said, divulging express details. “Once the network is up and running, they [partners] will bring their capacity and capabilities to the table. “
In April 2021, Gogoro partnered with Indian two-wheeler giant Hero MotoCorp to roll out its battery-swapping network in the country. However, this agreement yielded some results.
When asked how Gogoro would use its partnership with Hero MotoCorp and why it didn’t choose the local automotive actor for its debut and instead brought its own diversity of smart scooters to the country, Luke shared an incomplete answer and said that Hero MotoCorp’s top control did. I wish each and every one of them good luck before the launch.
“Their [Hero MotoCorp] brand and company as a whole is very B2C focused… As we launch with a B2B focus first, we keep them abreast of all the stuff that’s happening,” he said. “We’re an open platform. One day, they’ll be ready [to] launch a vehicle using our system. But it’s really a chicken and egg [situation]. I need to prove that there is a platform that is ready before they actually can go in, come in and do that.”
Gogoro plans to simulate its expansion in Taiwan, India, by launching 30 stations in Delhi during the first quarter of 2024. The company started its adventure in Taipei with the same number of stations, but has since expanded to 12,500 stations serving about 600,000 vehicles. Taiwan is willing to make more investments in India to succeed at this point and even grow over time.
“If we’re talking Pan India, we’re easily talking billions of dollars through 2030-2032,” Luke said.
He told reporters in the statement that Gogoro’s battery-swapping formula covers 93 percent of all electric vehicles in Taiwan, about 80 percent of which use vehicles with their own logo. The company is limited to two-wheelers in its home country, but it also offers its battery. switching generations to players driving automatic rickshaws.
However, Gogoro’s expansion is stalling and even slowing down in Taiwan, as Luke admitted on TechCrunch.
In its recent cash inflows report [PDF], the Nasdaq-listed company cited a 10. 2% year-over-year decline in cash inflows of $91. 8 million, resulting in a loss of $3. 1 million, compared to a profit of $56. 4 million in the past. fiscal year. same quarter as last year.
He noted that there were several reasons why the company had noticed a decline in its finances and had abandoned its operations in Taiwan. First, he explained, this was due to a lobbying effort opposed to the speed of EV adoption after the 2020 election. Second, the country has been slow to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Taiwan has been a driving force for us,” Luke said. “It’s been a market where we were developing the technology, working out the formula so that when we were delivered to India, we would be ready. And that’s where the pivot point is now. “
He compares the fact that gas in Taiwan has been subsidized to such an extent that it can be obtained at an average price of 0. 85 cents per liter, particularly below the average value of $1. 4 per liter in India, above the global price. $1. 22 value.
Although Gogoro is positive about its launch in India, the country has a small EV market, accounting for only 3. 7% of the country’s overall car market. The country’s electric scooters account for 90% of total EV sales, but this is only about 5% of the overall two-wheeler market. The Indian government has allocated billions of dollars in subsidies and discounts to attract brands and travelers to electric vehicles. However, those benefits only remain in place for a short period of time, and some disruptions due to tweaks to their design have been noticed recently in the electric two-wheeler market.
Electric two-wheelers in India are slowing down
Still, Gogoro, like other players in the EV market, is positive, as the Indian government has set a target of a 30% EV adoption rate by 2030. Gogoro’s strategy of seeing India as a production hub will likely appeal to the government and businesses as well. directing its production from China and introducing new markets.
It’s vital to note that although Gogoro’s profits especially declined in the latest quarter, its battery swapping service continued to grow, with a profit of $33. 6 million, a year-over-year increase of 10. 4%. As the company looks to collaborate with other automakers in India for its battery-swapping generation, it may just be a mutual move for Gogoro and the auto players. Indian automotive players are actively seeking answers to reduce charging time and provide effective opportunities to ICE vehicles. By offering its generation to automakers, Gogoro can meet this need and increase its profits from battery swapping services.
A report co-authored by Bain
One investor told TechCrunch that in order to be successful, the market needs interoperability and standardization when it comes to battery swapping, similar to how we have USB-C on phones in those days. But for Gogoro, this is just the beginning. Explore how big you can be in the overall EV market with your available battery switch solution.
“I have a total ecosystem to integrate. It took us a little while to prepare, and it’s going to take us a little while to speed it up. And I’m not kidding by saying it will happen overnight. ” said Luke. ” India is a huge country. There are many other use cases. The value for money is very high. . . So, through the production of more factors and portions in India, in combination with our Indian suppliers, we will definitely get started and then more localization would definitely help. “