Gogoro is on a mission to bring clean, green transportation to cities around the world – and since launching last year in Taiwan they’ve sold over 10,000 electric Smartscooters, rolled out 225 battery swapping stations, and saved 850,000 liters of gas. Today Gogoro is bringing its innovative, stylish scooters to Europe for the first time – by launching a brand new vehicle sharing service in Berlin. Developed in partnership with Bosch, Coup lets you rent one of 200 Gogoro Smartscooters in four Berlin neighborhoods for 3 euros for 30 minutes or 20 euros for the whole day. We chatted with Gogoro CEO Horace Luke to learn more – read on for the scoop!
Berlin is a progressive, tech-savvy capital with a history of innovation, so it’s a good choice for Gogoro’s first global expansion. The Coup vehicle sharing network launches today with 200 Gogoro Smartscooters in the neighborhoods of Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain, and Kreuzberg. Gogoro and Coup worked together to develop a streamlined, easy to use system that allows anyone over the age of 21 with a drivers license to rent a scooter for a short trip or a full day.
The scooter sharing network works via cellphone, so no keys are required – simply locate the nearest Smartscooter, use the app to unlock it, and you’re good to go – there’s even a helmet stored in the seat. The platform allows Coup to monitor its entire fleet from a central location and analyze individual vehicles for battery charge, maintenance needs, location, and performance.
Unlike Gogoro’s system in Taiwan, users will not need to purchase and maintain their own vehicles – they simply rent scooters as needed and Coup takes care of the rest. The only design difference between the programs is that Gogoro’s European scooters are limited to 45 kph so that they qualify as L1 vehicles, which can be driven without a specialized motorcycle license.
“Gogoro is collaborating with the new Coup sharing service because we share the same vision to realize advanced urban mobility in cities,” said Horace Luke, co-founder and CEO of Gogoro. The company is also working to bring its battery-swapping Smartscooters to Amsterdam this year.
+ Gogoro
