Five months after the announcement of a deal with two major Chinese two-wheel vehicle manufacturers, Gogoro officially launched in Hangzhou today. The company opened 45 battery swapping stations. Horace Luke, the company's co-founder, said that the company aims to open 80 stations before it expands into other major cities along with its partners Yadea (DCJ) and Dachangjiang Group(DCJ).
China's Gogoros battery-swapping technology will be available under the Huan Huan name, which is a partnership between Yadea, DCJ, and Gogoro.
Both DCJ and Yadea are developing vehicles that use Gogoros battery switching technology. Yadea launched two models today, beginning in Hangzhou.
Companies expect that government regulations for electric 2-wheel vehicles will drive consumer demand. These regulations, among other things, require the use lithium batteries rather than lead-acid. The new regulations will require that approximately 270 million vehicles be retired before 2025.
Gogoro, which announced its intention to go public on Nasdaq last month after closing a $2.35billion SPAC deal with Poema Global. This deal is expected close in the first quarter 2022. Gogoro is well-known for its two-wheel scooters and battery swapping network. However, it has also made deals to make vehicles using its batteries and charging stations with other manufacturers, such as Yamaha, Suzuki, and AeonMotor.
Its partnerships are an important factor in expanding the accessibility to Gogoros technology. The company also announced a deal with Hero MotoCorp this year, India's market leader in two-wheeled vehicles.
Gogoro has always been viewed as too expensive, so we have never been able to reach the people who really matter in major cities. With Yadea/DCJ, everyone will be able ride and purchase the vehicles which won't be more costly than mass-sold vehicles.
