Gogoro electric ‘smart scooter’ gets launch date, priced at hefty $4k+

At a livestreamed event in Taiwan this afternoon, smart scooter startup Gogoro revealed the launch date and price for its sleek first bike. It comes after more than six months of anticipation about the new startup’s first product, and more than three years after the company stealthily formed.

The all-electric Gogoro Smartscooter, which goes on pre-order on June 27, costs NTD$128,000 (US$4,140), revealed Peng Ming-i, the startup’s VP of marketing. Deliveries in Taiwan begin July 25. There’s still no word on other countries.

Lower running costs

While the price tag is large relative to Taiwan’s ubiquitous gas-powered scooters (which are typically 100cc or 125cc models) that generally cost around US$2,000 to US$3,000 to buy, Gogoro owners will save on gas with the electric Gogoro bike. To access the startup’s network of GoStation battery-swap points, buyers need to pay a monthly subscription of NT$899 (US$29).

Peng explained that there are currently 32 battery-swap points in the capital Taipei and neighboring New Taipei, but by the end of the year they want to have the cities covered extensively by 150 battery-swap stations. There won’t be more than 2 kilometers between each GoStation, he assured the audience.

Peng showed a graphic (above) during his presentation that claims the cost of ownership of a Gogoro Smartscooter over the course of two years will work out cheaper than a 125cc gas-engined scooter that initially cost a lot less to buy. Government subsidies that owners can get after the initial purchase help knock about US$750 from the price of the Gogoro.

Overseas expansion will prove tough for Gogoro as it needs to build the battery-swap infrastructure city by city.