Anika Begay
Taiwanese electric two-wheeler maker Gogoro has postponed its ambitious plans for India because New Delhi has yet to launch a planned battery swap program, a company official said. Meanwhile, the company has started a bike-taxi pilot with aggregator Rapido to test its vehicles before they go on sale.
Gogoro is “forced to wait for the finalization of incentive programs” from the Indian government before ramping up vehicle sales and battery pack production in the country, co-founder and CEO Horace Luke said during the company’s second-quarter earnings conference call on Thursday.
“We had forecast revenue from India in 2024, but due to the delay in implementing subsidies to include battery swap vehicles, the bulk of it is now forecast in 2025,” the executive told investors.
Luke also noted that the company is working with India’s Ministry of Heavy Industries to ensure that the government’s long-awaited iteration of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME 3) program offers the same benefits to battery swapping vehicles and infrastructure that it previously offered to EV charging.
In 2019, the Indian government released FAME 2 with a budget allocation of $1.19 billion (Indian Rupees 10,000 crore) to provide subsidies to buyers of electric vehicles in the country. It was extended to over $13 billion in February this year, although the program lasted until March 31.
Despite the delay of its original plans, Gogoro is optimistic about India, as its domestic market is stagnant. In December, the company launched its battery swap network and three smart scooters in the Indian market to begin its expansion.
“We are still operating at a loss and we are still investing for growth because we believe that the markets we are targeting, India, Southeast Asia and other markets, are ripe for EV disruption,” Luke said during the financial results conference call.
Gogoro has launched a pilot program with ride-hailing startup Rapido, the executive said, without disclosing further details.
Aravind Sanka, co-founder and CEO of Rapido, confirmed to TechCrunch that the pilot project is currently active in New Delhi and that there are plans to have around 1,000 Gogoro vehicles.
Depending on the success of the pilot project, companies will decide whether to expand it, Sanka said.
Gogoro has started eyeing India as its next big market in 2021, tying up with Indian auto giant Hero MotoCorp. It also invested $1.5 billion in Maharashtra last year and backed electric vehicle fleet management startup Zypp Electric in its $25 million round to test operations in the country.
During the earnings conference call, Luke said that Gogoro is “actively collaborating with five local Indian electric two-wheeler OEMs and has initiated vehicle trials for the deployment of these Gogoro-powered grid solutions” in the country.
“These partnerships bring a variety of products to market at lower price points and the start of testing of these solutions marks an exciting step forward in expanding our footprint and offering a wider range of vehicle options to B2B customers in India,” he said.
In an interview with TechCrunch last year, Luke said the company has invested “tens of millions” of dollars in India and is ready to invest more.
In Q2, Gogoro recorded over 6,500 backorders for its Pulse and JEGO vehicles, worth $12.3 million. However, the company noted in its 2024 guidance that the Taiwanese two-wheeler market is weaker and “strong sales” of its JEGO have put pressure on the average selling price.
