The competition in Taiwan’s e-scooter market has intensified dramatically this year due to the entries of new models under local and international vehicle brands. Consumers’ demand for e-scooters has also risen sharply in tandem with the expansion of the available options on the market. Gogoro, which is now the leading e-scooter brand on the island, recently declared that the total number of registered Gogoro Smartscooters in Taiwan has hit the 200,000 mark. In its announcement, Gogoro stated that it was able to achieve this major milestone because more people are recognizing the benefits of making the switch from conventional fuel scooters to electrified counterparts.
The total annual sales of e-scooters in Taiwan will exceed 150,000 vehicle units for 2019, showing a growth rate that is much faster than the global average. This forecast was just released by the Industry, Science and Technology International Strategy Center of Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute. This summer also saw the arrivals of new e-scooter models from Gogoro and other brand manufacturers, such as Kymco, Yamaha, eMOVING (a sub-brand under CMC), and Aeon Motor. The numerous new model launches indicate that domestic and foreign scooter manufacturers are highly aware of Taiwan’s huge demand for electric models.
Gogoro also reported that sales of its Smartscooters surpassed 10,000 vehicle units every month for four months straight since this May, thus helping the company to officially reach 200,000 in the total number of registered vehicles (or cumulative sales). This latest sales surge is attributed to the early arrival of the summer peak season for the scooter market. Furthermore, the introduction of new models from other brands, together with back-to-school promotions, have sustained the high demand. Gogoro pointed out that its share of the total monthly scooter sales in Taiwan rose to 16.35% in August, thanks in part to the rollout of its latest model – the Gogoro S2 ABS. Even though the total monthly scooter sales actually fell by 20% for the same month, Gogoro continued to post stable growth.
Chen Yen-yang, Gogoro’s senior marketing director, said that this summer has been a remarkable period in the company’s history. Chen further thanked the passionate users of Gogoro Smartscooters for their strong support that led to monthly sales breaking the 10,000 threshold for four consecutive months. In his view, the growth momentum is driven by a combination of rising consumer demand, policy incentives from the government, and efforts of the industry. The synergy of the market, industry, and government has been instrumental in helping Gogoro to break the 200,000-unit ceiling for cumulative sales. Looking ahead, Chen said that he hopes Taiwan will quickly catch up to the rest of the world in the adoption of electric vehicles.
Gogoro will be holding its annual landmark event, the flash parade of e-scooters through Taipei Bridge, on September 29. There were 1,303 riders in last year’s motorcade, which was also recognized by Guinness as the world’s largest parade of e-scooters. Gogoro again asks e-scooter owners across Taiwan to gather at the same location this year to help set a new record.
It is also worth mentioning that a promotional deal package that Gogoro introduced this August has become quite popular in the local market. The promotion, which is known as “ride as much as you want for as low as zero dollar,” targets the student population and has been extended from its original end date of August 31 to September 30. In celebration of reaching 200,000 vehicle units in cumulative sales, Gogoro has decided to extend the offering of this deal for another month. Under this package, the buyer of a new Smartscooter (belonging to any model series) will receive a NT$299 credit toward the monthly battery fee for six months, a 12-month instalment plan with 0% interest, and a year’s worth of collision insurance. The credit for the monthly battery fee is applicable to any battery rental plans provided by Gogoro and could – for some users – offset the cost of using a new Smartscooter in the half-year period since its purchase. However, the deal is limited to people with student status and vehicles sold at Gogoro’s stores and service points in Taiwan (note that the deal is not available for Smartscooters carried at RT-Mart and Carrefour).
(This article is an English translation of news content provided by EnergyTrend’s media partner TechNews. Photo credit: Gogoro Inc.)
