Taiwan: Smartscooter Gogoro sets up battery-swapping station at 7-Eleven

Startup Gogoro Inc., considered as the “Tesla of scooters”, has put up a battery-swapping station at a convenience store for the first time, reported FocusTaiwan.

The Taiwan-based electric scooter maker has set up the service at the 7-Eleven Rong Hsin store in Taipei's Zhongshan District for the convenience of Gogoro smartscooter riders.

"We're pleased to establish a battery-swapping station at a convenience store in Taiwan for the first time, in partnership with 7-Eleven, which has become indispensable to consumers," said Peng Ming-I, vice president of marketing at Gogoro.

Currently, Gogoro has a network 96 Gostations in Taipei, New Taipei and Taoyuan, mostly located at gas stations, which provide 24-hour battery-swapping services. The battery-swap network is set to expand to Keelung and Hsinchu County by the end of 2015.

Approximately 1,700 units of Gogoro smartscooter have been sold since the first time it was introduced in Taiwan in June 2015. A unit may cost US$2,702.

The Taiwanese government grants subsidy to Gogoro buyers to encourage the use of electric vehicles.

Gogoro is founded by former executives of smartphone HTC Corp and has received US$50 million in funding from HTC Chairwoman Cher Wang and Taiwanese entrepreneur Samuel Yin.