Kymco has announced their answer to Gogoro, the Ionex, and it ticks all the boxes. The main drawback is that it, too, seems proprietary. However, with their system, you can swap batteries, charge at home, drop off the batteries someplace for charging (it has a third, built-in battery for running around while this is happening), and even carry spare batteries.
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My main concern with gogoro is the win10 style auto-updates and the proprietary batteries which might be leaking all your travel data. This seems to solve the first problem. Would love to buy me a zero as it seems to be good in that sense but it’s just too expensive; even the base model.
My other concern with the Ionex would be range. It says up to 200km with three additional (rented) batteries. So far, I haven’t seen at what speed that is. Gogoro said 100km at 40km/h with their first generation scooter, so that would be closer to 70km at normal driving speeds. Have to wait and see what this Kymco does.
It also looks like the platform where you rest your feet might be a bit high and not great for taller people–at least on this initial model. I imagine they’ll make something bigger/longer for taller people later. They did say 10 models coming over the next 3 years.
Here’s another link:
Interesting , hope it’s a success too.
hope it does well. doesn’t look that much different to your bog standard taiwanese scooter though imo. one of the main appeals of gogoro is the aesthetic.
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This is true. Both Gogoro & Vespa seem to put a little more thought into styling.
I think the thing that has me most interested, though, is that people can charge at home, which should ensure pricing for battery swapping is competitive. It also means users can continue using their scooters if the company goes bankrupt.
If the price is reasonable and they can setup a fast charging spot in their major stores/mechanics, I’ll probably get it as soon as they release it.
I really hope this succeeds. One of the best things about electric vehicles is that they’re quiet. Imagine Taipei with 90% of the scooter noise eliminated.
That’s actually a negative. With standard scooters you can at least hear the Ahmas coming from the wrong direction. A world where they drive silent scooters is as close to a Mad Max scenario as it can possibly get.
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It would make for a great slogan. Ionex: The silent killer.
Yep. An American colleague had a Tesla. It was the first electric auto I ever rode in. The only noise was the sound the tire tread made on the road (and the radio). Got used to it pretty quickly, but at first it was freaky af.
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Yes, which is why Gogoro made the second gen a bit louder. I can hear one from about 50m away. Funny thing is I don’t even notice how “loud” it is when I’m on my own.
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50m should be enough to look for shelter from an Ahma. They don’t usually drive too fast, just carelessly and on the wrong side of the road.
This article mentions “remaining open to other manufacturers”, starting “an open movement”, the “specs of these chargers will be open to all manufacturers, as KYMCO invites them to join in by designing their own compatible batteries”, and “the world’s first multi-function open energy platform”.
Now, all of this “open” talk is mostly a marketing push to sound trendy and part of the sharing economy–and it’s not without its own inefficiencies and problems–but it does show up the biggest drawback of Gogoro’s closed system. If they truly can get other manufacturers on board, this has potential.
However, the article brings up a good point about the range of the individual batteries. But, considering there’s already a Kymco dealership on every street corner and small town in Taiwan, it’s less of an issue here and more problematic overseas.
ಠ_ŕ˛
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Me thinks their marketing department is trying too hard. 
Oh man, don’t want to be seen walking from where I parked my scoots back home with an ugly looking battery.
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Kymco’s biggest competitors is Kymco ie their revenue from petrol motor scooters.
That’s why I have a very healthy skepticism about this project but I would be happy to see more electric scooters on the streets.
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I disagree with this 100%. Every manufacturer–car, scooter, motorcycle, truck–knows the writing is on the wall. Legislation has been, or is being, passed in most developed countries banning or limiting fossil fuels. Taiwanese scooter manufacturers may be a little late to the game formulating and announcing their strategies, but only a foolish CEO in 2018 would say they’re going to stick with fossil fuels. Any company who wants to remain a going concern has to address an electric future. This is not a half-assed attempt. It’s actually very ambitious. It’s +1 to anything we currently have available.