This Company Is Making E-Scooters More Affordable

People are turning to two-wheeled vehicles as a way to snake through the crazy traffic in the metro. While motorcycles and bicycles are the most popular options, electric scooters might be the next big thing. Across the world, it’s no longer just a fun way to move around the city; e-scooters are emerging as another fast, convenient, and sustainable mode of travel. 

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But keeping up with the times is not always a walk in the park. So, mobility innovators in the country are trying to make these e-scooters more accessible to Filipinos. Gogoro Philippines, a frontrunner in e-scooters and battery-swapping technologies in the country, is set to introduce more affordable financing options within the month to cater to the low- to middle-income market. This will be followed up with the launch of budget-friendly scooters in the third quarter of the year. Aside from these, the company is gearing up to offer new energy plans for the prepaid market, which riders can expect will have no lock-up period.

“We hear you and we will soon respond to this clamor as we complete other critical components of the ecosystem. We are finding the price to speak for your budget,” Gogoro Philippines president and CEO Bernie Llamzon said in an interview.

At least seven more battery-swapping stations will also be put up across Metro Manila to provide additional energy sources for e-scooters, apart from its 14 existing sites. In 2023, Gogoro introduced GoStations, a charging technology where riders can swap out depleted batteries with newly charged ones. This makes things easier for users than taking time to load up batteries. 

Gogoro was founded in 2011 in Taiwan, changing the traffic landscape with its smart scooters. The maker’s venture into the Philippines is a product of its partnership with conglomerate Ayala Corporation and telecommunications giant Globe Telecom’s 917 Ventures. While it’s only operating in Metro Manila for now, Gogoro Philippines says it's setting its sights to enter key cities and towns across North and Central Luzon, as well as the Visayas and Mindanao soon.