Hero teams up with Gogoro to build e-bikes, battery swapping network
23 Apr 2021
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Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest two wheeler manufacturer, has announced a strategic partnership with Taiwanese electric scooter manufacturer Gogoro to tap into India’s nascent EV two-wheeler market.
The partnership will result in the development of Hero-branded, Gogoro Network -powered electric two-wheelers - a move that is bound to boost the electric two-wheeler market in the country, Hero MotoCorp stated in a release.
Established in 2011, Gogoro first launched its swappable battery-based e-scooter in 2015 and has since expanded its market in Taiwan, its home market. The swappable battery system has helped to eliminate the hassle of long charging times at the charging stations. Gogoro has over 2,000 battery swap stations that handle up to 265,000 swaps on a daily basis.
Gogoro keeps tab on the battery conditions through its network cloud service to decide on how fast they need to charge. This helps prolong battery life. The company claims that none of its batteries had to be retired in the past six years and that it has carried out 174 million battery swaps so far.
The ‘Powered by Gogoro Network’ programme allows Gogoro’s partners the freedom to design their e-bikes and e-scooters that integrates its innovations and intellectual property, including drivetrains and controllers, components and smart systems.
Japanese two-wheeler mjor Yamaha has collaborated with Gogoro for the launch of its electric scooter. Hero MotoCorp is expected to build launch these electric two-wheelers in India first, and subsequently. In the international markets as well.
“This partnership will further extend the work, which we are doing at our R&D hubs at the Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) in Jaipur and our Tech Centre in Germany”. With this new partnership, we commit to introducing a sustainable mobility paradigm, first in India and then in other markets around the world,” Pawan Munjal, chairman and CEO of Hero MotoCorp, said.
Interestingly, Hero MotoCorp is already in the electric two-wheeler business with its near-35 per cent stake in Ather Energy, one of the top electric two-wheeler manufacturers in India. Ather Energy is making inroads into new markets across the country, while Ola Electric is pushing ahead with plans to enter the electric scooter market with charging network some time by the middle of 2021.
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