Gogoro's Global Expansion Plans Boosted by Partnership with Japan's Sumitomo

Gogoro Inc., a developer of battery-swapping ecosystemsm, has announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Japan's Sumitomo Corporation and Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co., Ltd. The plan is to accelerate Gogoro's global business expansion while providing Sumitomo and SMFL with opportunities to expand their mobility business and second life battery use cases using Gogoro Smart Batteries and battery swapping.

Gogoro utilises big data from its ismart batteries and battery swapping platform to transform energy and make it more sustainable and accessible.

It tracks parameters like battery condition, population distribution, and environmental conditions in real-time that provide significant insights that are unique to Gogoro. 

Sumitomo is involved in a wide range of areas in the automotive industry in Japan and overseas, from vehicle engineering and manufacturing to sales, after-sales service, and energy management.

In the mobility services field, Sumitomo is involved in auto leasing, auto financing, EV-related business, individual subscription business, and parking lot business.

Horace Luke, founder and CEO of Gogoro, says: "Gogoro's innovative business ecosystem is designed to create broader business partnerships and business models that were not previously possible. Today, Sumitomo and SMFL are looking to accelerate Gogoro's global business expansion while utilizing Gogoro Smart Batteries and battery swapping to drive expansion of their own mobility business and second life battery revenue. Together, Gogoro, Sumitomo and SMFL share a vision for accelerating the expansion of sustainable energy and transportation in the world's most densely populated cities."

"Gogoro's potential partnership with Sumitomo and SMFL, a global leader in financing and leasing, would establish a new asset class using Gogoro smart batteries to create new business opportunities for Sumitomo and SMFL to utilize Gogoro's batteries for expanding their mobility business as well as generating second life battery revenue," adds Bruce Aiken, CFO of Gogoro. "Amongst the many new business opportunities, this partnership would enable a new asset-light expansion model for Gogoro that doesn't require a large upfront capital investment while increasing the financial efficiency of our new markets." 

Taiwan-based Gogoro is a leader in vehicle design and electric propulsion, smart battery design, battery swapping, and advanced cloud services that utilise artificial intelligence to manage battery charging and availability.