Kwang Yang Motor Co (光陽工業), the nation’s largest supplier of gasoline-powered scooters, yesterday unveiled its Ionex line of electric scooters and battery charging solutions for local riders, challenging electric-scooter start-up Gogoro Inc (睿能創意).
Kwang Yang said its electric scooters would be available for purchase in August.
The company aims to sell 60,000 electric scooters in Taiwan next year to grab half of the market share, Kwang Yang chairman Allen Ko (柯勝峰) told a media briefing in Taipei.
Photo: Yang Ya-min, Taipei Times
As part of its plan to introduce 10 electric models within three years, Kwang Yang showcased two versions of its New Many 110 EV scooters, with price tags of NT$42,800 (US$1,433) and NT$47,800.
“With the world’s first two Ionex [line of] scooters launched today, consumers can embrace electric scooters without compromise,” Ko said.
The company plans to launch a more affordable model called Nice 100 EV in October with a starting price of NT$29,800, targeting female riders, Kwang Yang said.
The company said it plans to offer various charging options to compete with its local rival, Gogoro, which built the world’s first battery-swapping network for its electric scooters.
Since 2015, about 60,000 Gogoro owners have swapped a total of 10 million batteries, Gogoro data showed.
Gogoro, the nation’s biggest electric-scooter supplier, last year sold more than 34,000 electric scooters, accounting for about 80 percent of the local market, industry statistics showed.
Ionex owners would be able to recharge their batteries at home-charging stations or swap them for fully charged batteries at a battery-swapping station, Kwang Yang said.
Customers would not have to buy batteries, as the company would offer battery-leasing services to people who want to charge their batteries at home or at charging stations on a contract basis, it said.
Riders would be required to pay a monthly fee of NT$299 for 1,000km, the company added.
Kwang Yang plans to deploy 1,500 Ionex fast-charging stations nationwide by August and build 2,000 Ionex energy stations featuring multiple charging bays next year, Ko said, adding that the firm also plans to build 30,000 charging points by 2020 for riders to share charging ports.
The firm plans to export its charging solutions to 20 nations over next three years.
Kwang Yang said it also plans to launch regular and heavy-duty electric scooters over the coming years.
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