Gogoro kickstarts battery swapping pilot project in India

Gogoro, the Taiwan-based electric scooter and battery swapping technology leader, has finally made its foray in the Indian market. The company has announced plans to kickstart a pilot project in association with India-based Zypp Electric, a company that runs an EV-as-a-service platform for last-mile deliveries.

Gogoro and Zypp Electric will commence this pilot project in Delhi in December 2022. As part of the project, Zypp Electric will use Gogoro electric scooters to conduct its B2B last mile delivery operations. The electric scooter will be powered by a 1.6kWh, Gogoro Smart Battery that can be swapped at a Gogoro Network GoStations. In essence, all a rider needs to do is pull up to a Gogoro battery swapping station and swap an almost depleted battery for a fully charged one. The entire process, Gogoro says, takes only six seconds. The plan is to start with six battery swapping stations and 100 electric vehicles. The end purpose of this pilot project is for the company to gather data and chart a course to expand operations in the future. 

For those not familiar with Gogoro, the Taiwanese company boasts of an expansive battery swapping network in its home country. There are about 1.1 million Gogoro batteries deployed in Taiwan, and they currently boast of 150 million swaps annually at 2,400 locations in Taiwan. This is enabled via around 10,000 battery swap stations around the country. At present, Gorogo handles 26 percent of Taiwan's commerce operations and that sort of experience has given it the ability to come up with not only a rugged scooter, but a well thought out battery swapping network.

Speaking of the scooter, the design is pretty simple. The front apron is neat, with an integrated headlight and turn indicators. The side panel is largely a flat surface, while the mildly-stepped seat looks spacious. Given the scooter’s commercial delivery application, there’s a large rack attached to the tail end to carry items. One can also notice a wireless phone charging mount to help the rider navigate to their delivery destination. 

The scooter’s chassis is suspended by a telescopic fork at the front and shock absorbers at the rear. Note the fork gaiters on what appears to be decently long travel suspension. The company, in fact, is confident that the scooter is rugged enough to take on the challenges of last-mile deliveries. That said, India’s poor roads and dusty conditions are tough on vehicles and we have to wait to see how well the scooters cope with this. 

As for the battery swapping stations themselves, Gogoro has been quite thoughtful in their design. The cabinets for storing and charging the battery packs are designed to be modular and can be increased in size based on the location and need. The swapping station is self-powered for up to 64 hours. This ensures that operations aren’t hampered even in case of a power outage.

Gogoro has also announced that it will focus on localisation. At present, it has partnered with Foxconn in India for manufacturing purposes with significant investments being made. The company added that plans are on to localise as much as possible.

In all, this announcement marks Gogoros long awaited first step in the emerging electric two-wheeler space in India.

What you think about Gogoro's foray in the market in the B2B segment? Let us know in the comments below.