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Yamaha Motor Co and Gogoro Inc have begun a study towards collaboration in the electric vehicle (EV) business in the Taiwan market.
This collaboration relates to Gogoro’s development and manufacturing of electric scooters for Yamaha and sharing of the battery-swapping system, and signing a formal contract is anticipated this year.
Yamaha will design Yamaha-branded electric scooters based on Gogoro production vehicles, with production handled by Gogoro. Sales of new Yamaha electric scooters in the Taiwanese market will be carried out through the sales channels of local subsidiary Yamaha Motor Taiwan.
Market launch of the first model is planned for the summer of 2019. Sumitomo Corporation, a business partner of both Gogoro and Yamaha Motor, is playing a key role in this collaboration.
Through this partnership with Gogoro, Yamaha Motor aims to promote expansion and enhancement of its product line-up — which also includes gasoline-powered models — in the Taiwanese market, as well as increase user convenience by using Gogoro’s network of battery-swapping stations for the new electric scooters.
Yamaha Motor first entered the Taiwanese motorcycle market in 1966, and currently sells 290,000 motorcycles per year, predominantly models produced at Yamaha Motor Taiwan.
The company also manufactures and sells the E-VINO electric scooter, and exports it to Japan. Development functions are carried out by Yamaha Motor Research & Development Taiwan, which mainly develops scooters for the Taiwanese market.
Gogoro first entered the Taiwanese scooter market in 2015, and is rolling out a new electric motorcycle business model through its in-house manufactured electric scooters and battery-swapping stations, where depleted batteries can be easily changed for charged ones.
The battery-swapping stations are being installed by Gogoro Energy Network. Gogoro currently has more than 750 GoStations in Taiwan and is expected to have more than 1,000 by 2019.
Since launch, the Gogoro Energy Network has made more than 17 million battery swaps. Through this collaboration, Gogoro intends to increase its production volume of electric scooters.
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