Gogoro is venturing into the Indian EV Market in collaboration with Zypp Electric. Gogoro in collaboration with Zypp Electric launched a pilot battery-swapping project in India. With this project, Gogoro has officially announced its venture into the Indian Market.
Zypp Electric is one of the biggest players in India in the EV-as-a-Service model. Using electric two-wheelers acquired from several manufacturers, Zypp Electric provides last-mile deliveries for nearby retailers and e-commerce businesses.
On the other side, Gogoro offers both battery-switching services and electric two-wheelers.
Zypp Electric will deploy Gogoro Smart scooters as part of this experiment with Gogoro, which will start in December, to carry out its B2B last-mile delivery activities. The 1.6 kWh Gogoro Smart Battery used to power the electric scooter may be changed at Gogoro Network GoStations.
Horace Luke, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Gogoro said that this is the ideal time to enter this market given the government’s focus on battery swapping.
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Companies including Sun Mobility, Yulu, Battery Smart, Bounce Infinity, and Sheru have expressed interest in battery swapping. According to reports, Foxconn in Taiwan has also expressed interest in battery shifting.
The charging approach is better suited for private users, according to a report by management consulting company Arthur D Little India, while the exchanging strategy makes sense for commercial users of 2/3-wheelers.
Battery swapping lowers the upfront cost because the vehicle is sold without the battery, which accounts for 40–50% of the total cost, according to Barnik Maitra (managing partner), Fabian Sempf (principal, Head of Automotive Practice), and Prathamesh Chaudhari (senior manager, Automotive Practice), ADL India. It lowers range concerns and vehicle downtime, which has a good effect on commercial drivers’ pay. Given the little amount of space needed, it reduces the need for infrastructure.
The battery swapping system needs smaller batteries with shorter ranges, which reduces the industry’s need for lithium.
But there are also difficulties, such as those with interoperability and battery standardization. In addition, there is a heated argument over who is responsible for accidents involving vehicles that use swapping models.
On the other hand, battery charging gives customers a sense of ownership and raises the perceived quality of branded batteries. However, although it makes sense for private users of electric two-wheelers (because their daily run is constrained and they can charge the battery overnight at home), it makes no sense for commercial users since they must be on the move for the majority of the day.
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