Sumitomo Corporation, a leading Fortune 500 global trading and business investment company based in Japan, and Gogoro®, a technology leader transforming how innovation is bridging sustainable energy and urban transportation, today announced a joint partnership and introduced a new Smartscooter sharing service that will launch this year in Japan called GoShare™. Earlier this month Gogoro announced Sumitomo Corporation as an investor.
“The Sumitomo Corporation and Gogoro partnership represents two companies that share a similar vision for making the world a better place through offering sustainable energy solutions that can transition people away from gas and to electric,†said Horace Luke, founder and CEO of Gogoro. “The Smartscooter and Gogoro Energy Network demonstrate how technology innovation can transform an industry and introduce a new urban transportation paradigm.â€
The partnership will champion the GoShare service utilizing the Gogoro Energy Network, an innovative open battery-swapping system that will power the Gogoro Smartscooter as well as compact four-wheel vehicles in the future. The service will begin its pilot launch in the southern Japanese island of Ishigaki and expand to other cities and markets in 2018. For more information, visit www.ridegoshare.com
“I am excited for Sumitomo Corporation to start collaborating with a technology innovator like Gogoro to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles,†said Masaki Nakajima, executive officer and general manager, Automotive Division, No.1, Sumitomo Corporation. “The opportunity to expand Gogoro’s smart energy system for vehicles and other applications is significant.â€
As an open platform, the Gogoro Energy Network offers a battery swapping system that vehicle manufacturers can utilize in their electric vehicle development. In Taiwan, Gogoro handles 17,000 swapped battery swaps every day and has had six million total batteries swapped since launching in 2015. The partnership comes as Gogoro experiences strong consumer momentum in Taiwan and Europe.
“The Gogoro Energy Network is the result of incredible technical innovation in software, connectivity and cloud services that enable a sophisticated system capable of leading the transition from gas vehicles to electric across this region and throughout the world,†said Luke.
The Gogoro Smartscooter® EV was the world’s first high-performance, smart electric two-wheel vehicle that utilizes the Gogoro Energy Network, an advanced battery-swapping infrastructure for consumers. Gogoro launched Smartscooter™ EV and Gogoro Energy Network in 2015 in Taipei and rolled it out across Taiwan with strong momentum and success.
Sumitomo Corporation
Sumitomo Corporation (“SCâ€) is a leading Fortune 500 global trading and business investment company with 107 locations in 65 countries and 22 locations in Japan. The entire SC Group consists of more than 800 companies and nearly 70,000 personnel. SC conducts commodity transactions in all industries utilizing worldwide networks, provides related customers with various financing, serves as an organizer and a coordinator for various projects, and invests in companies to promote greater growth potential. SC’s core business areas include Metal Products, Transportation and Construction Systems, Environment and Infrastructure, Media, Network, Lifestyle Related Goods and Services, Mineral Resources, Energy, and Chemical and Electronics. For more information, visit http://www.sumitomocorp.co.jp/english/
About Gogoro
Founded in 2011, Gogoro is putting energy into things that matter. With a mission to deliver consumer innovations that will improve how the world’s most populated cities distribute and utilize energy, the company is enabling the transformation of megacities into smart cities. Gogoro is working toward a better future by putting power in the hands of everyone – to move us all forward, faster.
