They probably have a terrible resale value .
Supposedly good but they seem to require a lot of work for an electric scooter, and they’re really expensive in addition to requiring a subscription. A lot of taiwanese only got it for the government subsidy, because you could get a decent gas scooter that basically requires the same amount of maintenance, except you’re not paying a sub to drive it.
Those 20,000nt electric scooters seem like a better deal. Charge it at home and it will take you 10 or 20k, which is enough in many cases.
I should note the battery on a lot of those scooter slides out and you should just be able to take it upstairs to charge them while at work.
Gogoro is like over 70k even with subsidy.
That is the thing that stopped me getting one. The subscription. I didnt ride mine enough to make it work.
They should be really cheap with a subscription or the same price without. Basically like cell phones.
I mean you should be allowed to just buy a battery and not participate in the exchange program.
Also what happens if the company goes under? Are all the scooters just dead?
Lots of angry people is what.
Obviously most of them are, been going for years already. Loads of maintenance places around as well. Some businesses are not great for shareholders , people shouldn’t mix up shareholder value with customer value, see a lot of people doing that here.
For instance it wouldn’t be viable to purchase and drive gas guzzling SUVs if the government didn’t subsidise petrol production and roads and ignore the environmental cost of air pollution to the degree they do.
If suddenly the SUvs manufacturer wasn’t making money for whatever reason does that mean it’s a shit product ?
Maybe a ham fisted analogy but there’s plenty of value in Gogoro from multiple standpoints not just from current shareholder value.
As for the company going under it seems doubtful for instance a new owner could just maintain the network and provide maintenance for all existing owners and still be able to make money. Maybe not as widespread or fancy a network as before , but could still work since most costs were already incurred.
No they are not. They are more like a souped up bicycle while a Gogoro is a legit scooter, In some cases its better because it is a smoother ride with faster acceleration.
That’s the whole selling point.
Although the business plan might need a change up.
I really despise those cheap E-bikes. Too many aunties riding them on every surface and expecting others to jump out of their way. Obnoxious biatches.
Yeah they are obnoxious it used to be really bad in China. And it’s pretty bad now in some countries in Europe including my own home city, was shocked at people barrelling along at 30km on the footpath. No fucks given.
Aren’t they called silent death, or something similar, in China?
Profits are what businesses need to innovate and stay competitive in the long run. You can only run on venture capital for so long and Gogoro keeps hemorrhaging money. Customers may love the product, but if they can’t find a way to become profitable they will exit the market. Their current cash balance covers two more years if they keep the current yearly net loss.
They make 90% of their revenue in Taiwan, maybe they should just downsize and forget about the international stuff.
Lets be honest though its kind of is a unique Taiwan specific business. Developed countries dont usually rely on scooters as their main mode of transport.
Now we have already covered that Gogoro can not compete with the bog standard sym kymco polkadot -sometimes literally producing visable smog clouds as they drive- scooters.
But gogoro offers some hope of improvement to the roads here. More gogoros on the street = less air pollution and less noise pollution. So what if they need the govt to subsidise? The real question is why are they not doing more. They want to have their cake and eat it. As always.
If gogoro went away that would be a real shame and a step backwards.
But I think developed countries like the US should use motorcycles assuming the weather permit it, because cars really take up a LOT of space, and I think cars need to be limited. Scooters just gives you an in between, still enough freedom to go where you need to go, but not take up so much space, though it would never fly in the US because everyone just want bigger and bigger vehicles.
You can’t have a privately owned company that continuously needs subsidies to survive. If that’s the case the government should own it. Won’t happen.
Well, that depends on the nature, duration and availability of subsidies. Plenty of companies get subsidies for specific purposes. But also the importance of the company to the nation is often a factor in subsidy availability. It doesn’t give the company absolute guarantee but helps to insulate it, and … probably create financial inefficiencies.
Again, its a unique situation though. Its not just another scooter company competing with other scooter company’s.
Gogoro are subsidized because of the govts support and supposed (ha) commitment to electric vehicles.
If it was strictly capitalism then Gogoro would probably have to go down the tesla route and make scooters as big as minubuses to get the interest of rich wankers.
The govt haven’t held up their end of the deal imo. No surprises there.
In Taiwan it isn’t an in-between, its the main mode of transport.
How long do the Gogoro batteries last before they are fried, and what part of them is recyclable at that point?
Presumably the subscription just pays for the upkeep of the batteries and station infrastructure?
No shit, just curious in terms of their cost base and all.
Utilities, such as gas, electric, water are largely private in the US and heavily subsidised/price regulated.
If you look into the banks in Taiwan you will see a curious mix of public and private ownership.
Formosa oil is a private company that has surely benefited from huge govt subsidies and beneficial rules over the years.
The HSR is a private company I believe but again heavily subsidized or partially govt owned, cant remember the exact details
Should we not have a HSR? After all it’s a subsidy for rich people really, same as the tunnels to Yilan with no roll fees!
I guess TSMC gets subsidized electricity and water from the government along with generous grants and rezoning of govt controlled land too, they are the richest company im Taiwan.
Couldn’t complain about the resale value of my old model 2 (when I left Taiwan). Also not much maintenance cost or issues, and also not expensive to run. For sure I wouldn’t buy any gas scooter any more. Ever.
By the way, I think the battery rental model is actually the core of their business, even more than the scooters themselves. Their main selling point seems to be the charging stations and the know-how for keeping so many batteries in tip top shape (eg. Refurbishing, repairing, replacing, …).