Gogoro delays India plans due to political uncertainty, launches bike taxi pilot with Rapido

Taiwanese electric two-wheeler maker Gogoro has shelved its ambitious plans for India as New Delhi has not yet launched a much-anticipated battery-swap programme, an organization executive said. In the meantime, the corporate has began piloting bike taxis with aggregator Rapido to test its vehicles before industrial launch.

Gogoro is “forced to wait for the finalization of incentive programs” from the Indian government before ramping up vehicle sales and battery production within the country, said co-founder and CEO Horace Luke he said throughout the company Q2 earnings call on Thursday.

“We had forecasted revenue from India in 2024, but due to the delay in the implementation of subsidies for battery-swap vehicles, most of it is now forecasted in 2025,” the manager told investors.

Luke also highlighted that the corporate is working with India’s Ministry of Heavy Industries to be sure that the federal government’s anticipated version of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles (FAME 3) program delivers the identical advantages to swappable battery vehicles and infrastructure because it has previously provided for EV charging.

In 2019, the Indian government released FAME 2 with a budget of $1.19 billion (Indian Rs 10,000 crores) to subsidise electric vehicle buyers within the country. expanded to over $13 billion in February this yr, although this system ran until March 31.

Despite the delay in its original plans, Gogoro is bullish on India, as its domestic market has been stagnant. In December, the corporate launched a battery-swapping network and three smart scooters within the Indian market to kick-start its expansion.

“We continue to operate at a loss and continue to invest in growth because we believe the markets we’re targeting, India, Southeast Asia and other markets, are ripe for electric vehicle disruption,” Luke said on an earnings conference call.

Gogoro’s chief executive said it had launched a pilot program in partnership with ride-hailing startup Rapido, without disclosing further details.

Rapido co-founder and CEO Aravind Sanka confirmed to TechCrunch that the pilot program is currently underway in New Delhi and can eventually cover around 1,000 Gogoro vehicles.

Depending on the success of the pilot, corporations will resolve to expand it, Sanka said.

Gogoro began 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 yr and backed electric vehicle fleet management startup Zypp Electric in a $25 million round to test operations within the country.

During the earnings conference call, Luke said Gogoro is “actively working with five local Indian electric two-wheeler manufacturers and has commenced vehicle testing to deploy Gogoro’s connected solutions in the country.”

“This collaboration brings a variety of products to the market at lower price points and the commencement of testing of these solutions marks an exciting step forward in expanding our presence and offering a wider choice of vehicles to B2B customers in India,” he said.

In an interview with TechCrunch last yr, Luke said the corporate had invested “tens of millions” of dollars in India and was looking to invest extra money there.

In the second quarter, Gogoro recorded greater than 6,500 orders for its Pulse and HIS vehicles, price $12.3 million. However, the corporate noted in its 2024 outlook that the Taiwanese two-wheeler market is weaker, with “strong sales” of its HIS putting pressure on the common selling price.