Taiwanese electric scooter giant Gogoro has been on a quest for world domination for several years now. And it’s slowly but surely making its way to all corners of the globe. The company has established a strong presence in the majority of Asia, and is now developing a foothold in South America.
The latest news surrounding Gogoro’s expansion comes to us from Colombia, where the company has partnered with leading fuel and lubricant specialist Terpel.
Through the latter’s Voltex brand, Gogoro’s battery-swapping infrastructure will make its way across Colombia, starting in the nation’s capital Bogota.
According to Gogoro’s official press release, both Terpel and Gogoro share the vision of accelerating the shift to more sustainable two-wheeled mobility across Latin America. “Gogoro and Terpel share a common vision for accelerating the shift to two-wheel sustainable transportation in Colombia and across Latin America. Gogoro Swap & Go battery swapping addresses many of the challenges that traditional plug-in charging presents,” said Horace Luke, founder and CEO of Gogoro.
Meanwhile, Oscar Bravo, president of Terpel, echoed similar sentiments saying, “In line with our commitment to supporting Colombia, we continue to expand our portfolio with alternatives that contribute to Colombia's decarbonization goals and encourage the deployment of electromobility solutions. Gogoro battery swapping strengthens and complements our comprehensive portfolio of services by offering users the convenience of swapping batteries in just seconds.”
While Terpel will manage and handle Gogoro’s extensive battery swapping network, Gogoro has teamed up with Motored for the distribution of the brand’s electric scooters. Motored has a decade of experience selling and distributing Hero Motorcycles in the South American country.
To that end, Gogoro has chosen the 2 Plus and Viva Mix Smartscooters for their initial launch in Colombia, as these models have proven popular in other markets thanks to their ease of use and versatility. These compact scooters can be fitted with accessories to be used in last-mile delivery, as well as all-around commuting.
At present, Gogoro’s battery-swapping tech has proven to be one of the most viable solutions to electric urban mobility. The company has completed more than 590 million battery swaps, with this number steadily rising by about 400,000 each day.
Even better still, Gogoro claims that its battery-swapping tech has saved more than 870,750 tons of CO2 since starting out in 2015.
