Last Mile EV Delivery In The Philippines Boosted By Battery Swapping Partnership

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Electric 2-wheelers have been part of the last-mile transportation in the Philippines since 2006 when the first electric bicycles and scooters came in from China. These vehicles were however, low mileage, and high maintenance using heavy lead acid batteries for power. In 2010 the Asian Development Bank funded 3-wheeled electric transportation to replace the smoke-spewing 2-stroke engine tricycles used for transporting passengers and cargo.

Image courtesy of Gogoro

Last November 30, Gogoro Inc. (Nasdaq: GGR), a global technology leader in battery swapping ecosystems based in Taiwan, and 917Ventures, operating under Globe, the technology arm of the Philippines’ largest business conglomerate, the Ayala Corporation, inked a strategic partnership aimed an urban battery swapping scheme intended initially for the last-mile delivery industry.

“Through our collaboration with Globe, 917Ventures and Ayala Corporation, we plan to unlock incredible environmental and sustainability benefits and introduce new smart mobility efficiencies for businesses by improving how they manage their fleets and deliveries,” Horace Luke, founder and CEO of Gogoro, said in a press statement.

A Gogoro battery swapping station in Taiwan. (Photo from Gogoro)

The companies will be launching a 2-wheel battery swapping pilot in Manila using Gogoro’s industry leading battery swapping and Smartscooters.

On one hand, the Gogoro battery swapping network is wildly successful in Taiwan, and fueled the shift from ICE-powered scooters to electric powered ones. Founded in 2011, the company’s battery swapping and vehicle platforms offered the island nation a smart, proven, and sustainable long-term ecosystem for delivering a new approach to urban mobility. Since it leverages changing the way urban energy is distributed and consumed, Gogoro’s battery swapping system takes consideration of power sources to recharge the batteries in its swapping bank and also the overall effect on the national power grid using a highly digitalized platform called Swap & Go, that utilize artificial intelligence to manage battery availability and safety.

On the other hand, Globe and Ayala Corporation are helping lead the Philippines in renewable energy with solar and wind projects as well as the installation of charging stations in Ayala malls and property developments. In one of the brands it carries in its automotive business, it is starting to distribute the Kia EV6 and is promoting to bring other EVs in via its Volkswagen and Honda businesses.

Gogoro has quickly become an innovation leader in vehicle design and electric propulsion, smart battery design, battery swapping, and advanced cloud services that have positively disrupted the status quo, and are now helping establish new standards locally and globally creating new levels of sustainable transportation growth in densely populated cities,

One such example of this technology disruptor are its Smartscooters. Powered by Swap and Go, these electric motorcycles extend distances and time-on-the road delivering riders in just seconds. The Smartscooters will serve as an eco-friendly alternative to fossil fuel-powered vehicles currently used by the logistics industry in the Philippines and are expected to launch in the first quarter of 2023.

“We are committed to helping solve the climate crisis by introducing Gogoro to logistics businesses, helping them in their sustainability efforts. In addition, the Swap & Go technology will enable riders to be fully charged in just seconds and therefore eliminate the need for parking spots. Hopefully, this technology will encourage more Filipinos to switch to EV,” Vince Yamat, Managing Director of 917Ventures, said.

The Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Utilization Management Bureau (EMB) are elated by the developments highlighting Taiwan’s successes in the last-mile EV and battery swapping space — way ahead of most nations that are quickly going electric.

“More than 25% of Taiwan’s quick commerce deliveries and almost all of their electric deliveries are powered by Gogoro’s battery-swapping technology, and we see this solution being most beneficial to a densely populated region like Metro Manila, which is also the hub of business districts,” Patrick Aquino, Director DOE-EMB shared.

“Our country needs innovative tech-led projects that support climate action,” Rafaelita Aldaba, Undersecretary of the DTI added.

“Gogoro is honored to have the support of the Philippines’ Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to kick start this new smart mobility movement in Manila that utilizes Gogoro’s intelligent battery swapping, a new generation of EV refueling,” Luke responded.

In Taiwan, more than 520,000 riders benefit from the nearly 11,000 battery swapping GoStations at over 2,260 locations. The xGogoro Network hosts more than 370,000 daily battery swaps with more than 360 million total battery swaps to date.

Image courtesy of Gogoro

“Gogoro’s leadership in battery swapping, vehicle design, and innovation has transformed two-wheel mobility in Taiwan and fostered a new smart mobility industry of eco-friendly businesses and end-users. We look forward to businesses and riders in the Philippines experiencing the benefits of Gogoro’s smart mobility like we have in Taiwan. Together, with Gogoro, we can all reach our net-zero carbon emissions goals,” Chuan-Neng Lin, vice minister of the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Taiwan, concluded.


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Raymond Tribdino

Raymond Gregory Tribdino is the motoring & information technology editor of Malaya Business Insight (www.malaya.com.ph) in the Philippines. He has been covering automotive, transport, and IT since 1992. His passion for electric vehicles started with the failed electrification of a scooter in 1994. He wrote for EVWorld.com, one of the pioneer electric vehicle websites, in 1997. He was a college professor for 8 years at the Philippine Women’s University. He is also now a podcaster co-hosting for the Philippines' top-rated YouTube tech site “TechSabado” and the baby-boomer popular “Today is Tuesday.” He is a husband and father of five, a weekend mechanic and considers himself a handyman, an amateur ecologist, and environmentalist. He is back to trying to electrify motorcycles starting with a plug-in trail motorcycle.

Raymond Tribdino has 108 posts and counting. See all posts by Raymond Tribdino