The Year of the Pig is shaping up to become a decisive year in the battle between producers of electric scooters. Leading manufacturer of gasoline-powered scooters, Kwang Yang Motor Co. (KYMCO), is predicting it will shift 50,000 electric scooters in the coming year and grab 50 percent market share of the electric scooter market by going head-to-head with established market leader Gogoro.
Due to the provision of government subsidies, electric scooters are able to be sold at a relatively low price point. This powerful incentive last year helped propel domestic sales of electric scooters to 82,400 units. Of these, Gogoro sold 72,100 units — double its sales volume for the previous year — enabling the company to grab 87 percent of the market share and cement its place as the market leader in Taiwan’s electric scooter market.
Meanwhile, KYMCO chief executive Ko Chun-pin says although the company only started selling electric scooters in the fourth quarter of last year, it has already shifted 7,296 units. Ko says he expects the electric scooter market will kick into high gear this year and says the company has already installed 1,642 of its Ionex fast charging stations, and says it will also install a further 278 Ionex energy stations.
Photo: Yang Ya-ming, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者楊雅民
Additionally, Ko says KYMCO will focus on popularizing the electric scooter and competing with the flagship brands of competitors for the young consumer segment. The company predicts that over 100,000 units of electric scooters will be sold this year, and hopes to achieve its year-end target of shifting 50,000 units, seizing 50 percent of market share.
In contrast, Gogoro is pursuing a saturation coverage strategy, blanketing the country with charging stations, which is being carried out at an average rate of two new station installations per day. The company says it now has 1,000 battery swapping GoStations in place nationwide and expects to have all of these fully operational by the end of this year’s first quarter. Once they all go live, Gogoro says that within the nation’s six largest cities, riders will never be more than an average of 5 minutes away from the nearest battery swap station, a strategy the company is using to defend its dominant market position.
Last year, China Motor Corp sold 5,768 of its emoving electric scooter, grabbing 7 percent market share. This year the company will release its first “white license plate” (heavy duty) electric scooter as well as a customizable light-weight model. The company forecasts sales of its electric scooter and electric bicycle models will come close to achieving its target of 17,000 units by the end of the year.
Photo courtesy of Far EasTone Telecommunications
照片：遠傳提供
The three largest scooter vendors operating in Taiwan — Yamaha Motors, Aeon Motor and Motive Power Industry, which operates under the PGO brand — have all announced they will enter into a partnership with Gogoro to share its platforms, including its battery charging system, smart batteries and battery swap system, which will work in conjunction with their own electric scooter models, developed in-house. The three companies are all scheduled to release new models in the second half of this year.
Sanyang Motor will adopt fast-charging batteries developed by CPC Corp, Taiwan for its line of electric scooters currently under development, which the company says could hit the market as soon as the end of this year. With model development revving up, the year ahead looks set to be a lively one for Taiwan’s electric scooter market.
(Translated by Edward Jones, Taipei Times)
Photo: Chen Yi-chuan, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者陳奕全
金豬年將成為各大機車品牌電動機車的決戰元年，目前為燃油車龍頭的光陽，喊出今年電動機車要賣出五萬台，搶下電動機車市場百分之五十市占率，與先發品牌Gogoro爭電動機車市場「老大」。
受惠於政府補助，電動機車售價相對便宜的強力誘因，去年台灣電動機車年銷量衝上八點二四萬輛的新高，Gogoro年銷量達七點二一萬輛，較前年倍增，並搶下電動機車市場百分之八十七市占率，坐穩龍頭地位。
光陽執行長柯俊斌表示，光陽去年第四季電動機車才開始交車，就賣出七千兩百九十六台電動機車，今年在電動機車市場將加足馬力，已在全台建置一千六百四十二個Ionex車能網快充站，並將建置兩百七十八個Ionex能源站。
Photo courtesy of China Motor Corp
照片：中華汽車提供
此外光陽將聚焦「大眾化」用車市場，與競爭對手主打年輕客層的產品區隔，預估今年全台電動機車年銷量將衝上十萬輛大關，光陽目標要賣出五萬台，搶下百分之五十市占率。
Gogoro則指出，該品牌啟動的「鋪天蓋地大做站」計畫，以平均每天建置兩站的速度，已順利在全台佈建一千座電池交換站，預計今年第一季結束前全面開通，屆時大部分六都車主平均騎車五分鐘內的距離皆可找到電池交換站，捍衛市場龍頭地位。
中華汽車去年賣出五千七百六十八台emoving電動機車，市占率百分之七，今年將推首款白牌（普通重型）電動機車及輕型電動機車改款車型，預估電動機車和電動自行車今年銷量將挑戰1.7萬輛目標。
Gogoro與3大機車業者YAMAHA、宏佳騰、PGO將以Gogoro的電控系統、智慧電池、電池交換系統等平台各自研發的電動機車，也預計於下半年推出新車型。
三陽採用中油牌快充電池開發的電動機車，最快也將於年底上市開賣，預期今年電動機車市場將十分熱鬧。
(自由時報記者楊雅民)
課後練習
Follow Up
Questions
1. Would you consider buying an electric scooter? If yes, why? If no, what would make you change you mind?
2. Are electric vehicles more environmentally friendly than gasoline cars?
3. Where does the electricity come from to power electric vehicles and how “green” is the production process for car/scooter batteries?
4. Do you think people will still be driving gasoline vehicles in 20 years’ time?
(Edward Jones, Taipei Times)
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