<p><img src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/60b12a8f02ac410018f93726-2400/gogoro-burnout.jpg" border="0" alt="Gogoro" data-mce-source="Gogoro"></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>The most expensive component of electric vehicles are the huge batteries it takes to power them, and that's true no matter how many wheels you've got: The batteries that make an electric scooter go account for about 40% of the cost of the vehicle. That creates a cost barrier for potential buyers, especially since the battery loses value as its performance drops over time.</p><p>A Taiwanese electric scooter startup believes it has the solution: When a customer buys an electric scooter from Gogoro Global, she doesn't buy the batteries. She instead pays a monthly fee for access to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-gogoro-plans-to-expand-its-battery-swapping-network-2021-4">Gogoro's battery swapping network</a>, exchanging depleted power packs for fresh ones at the ATM-sized stations installed around town.</p><p>Swapping with Gogoro's Flex pricing means the driver pays a fixed rate for unlimited usage. A rider pays between $10.78 to $43.24 per month.</p><p>"By removing the battery, we get to stay more competitive," CEO of Gogoro Horace Luke told Insider. "The battery [is] a subscription, something you sign up for. And through the usage of that per month, you pay for it."</p><p>A Gogoro scooter itself costs from $2,161 to $2,886, depending on the model (local subsidies drop the price a bit). And with similar subsidies in China and India<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-scooter-startup-gogoro-expands-to-china-and-india-2021-5">markets into which Gogoro is now expanding</a>the pricing should stay relatively low. The startup recently embarked on two joint ventures, one with Chinese industry giants<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-scooter-startup-gogoro-expands-to-china-and-india-2021-5"> DCJ and Yadea</a>, and another with two-wheel EV titan <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-gogoro-plans-to-expand-its-battery-swapping-network-2021-4">Hero Corp</a> in India.</p><p>The Gogoro mission is simple: to maximize the impact and effect of technology on society without burdening it and grab a larger market share in the two-wheel EV market. The battery swapping model does just that for drivers' time, by not forcing them to wait to charge, and the drivers' wallet.</p><p>"We have to delight the customer in an amazing way and surprise them through [our] technology," Luke said. "And we're eager to put that into China, India, and the rest of the emerging world."</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-scooter-startup-gogoro-made-going-electric-easier-and-cheaper-2021-5#comments">Join the conversation about this story »</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-vespa-scooters-made-italy-piaggio-group-two-wheelers-2019-7">We visited the Vespa headquarters in Italy to see how the world-famous scooters are made</a></p>
Click here to read full news..
