Gogoro has long been a leader in the electric scooter and shared battery market. Now the Taiwan-based company is unveiling a new version of its popular smart scooters known as the VIVA MIX.
Gogoro unveils VIVA MIX electric scooters
Gogoro first introduced the VIVA line as a smaller, more affordable range of electric scooters in late 2019.
The new VIVA MIX line unveiled today though offers both higher-powered motors and faster top speeds, opening the possibility of expanding beyond urban-only riding.
The Gogoro VIVA MIX electric scooter is powered by a 6 kW (8 hp) water-cooled motor that uses a helical gear setup combined with a Gates carbon fiber belt to drive the rear wheel. The new drivetrain is known as the FLO DRIVE and is said to be both more durable and easier to maintain. It also offers more responsive power along with a 40% quieter ride experience.
With Gogoro’s new FLO DRIVE, the VIVA MIX electric scooter can reach a top speed of 90 km/h (55 mph).
All of Gogoro’s electric scooters are built around the same swappable batteries. The company operates the largest battery swapping network in the world with over 2,000 stations. In the VIVA MIX, the batteries provide up to 150 km (93 miles) of range on a single charge.
That’s likely more range than riders will need, especially considering that Taiwan is extensively covered in Gogoro’s battery swap stations.
In Taipei, for example, riders are never more than 1 km (0.6 miles) from a battery swap station.
More than 250,000 Gogoro battery swaps occur per day, or nearly three battery swaps every second.
As Gogoro founder and CEO Horace Luke explained in a statement provided to Electrek:
As the growing mass market transition to electric grows, Gogoro is focused on introducing innovative and affordable Smartscooters like VIVA MIX to meet the demand. With Gogoro DNA at its core, the VIVA MIX delivers the total Smartscooter package of smart riding features, expressive design and Gogoro battery swapping that delivers a new standard that is more accessible.
The new Gogoro scooters are designed to be both eye-catching and utility oriented.
The scooters feature three-tone colorways with body panels made of durable and recyclable plastic that are scratch-resistant and more environmentally friendly.
The VIVA MIX includes a comfortable STYLO fabric seat that covers a 23.9 liter storage area. The scooter also employs Gogoro’s POP system that allows riders to swap in an extensive suite of customizable accessories for personalizing the scooter.
For now, the new Gogoro electric scooter is only available for the Taiwanese market, where it debuts with a starting price of TWD $59,980 (approximately USD $2,155).
Gogoro has already expanded internationally with its electric bicycle line Eeyo and has previously discussed plans for international expansion of its electric scooters as well.
The company has sold more than 365,000 electric scooters, which have been ridden over 3 billion kilometers to date. According to Gogoro, that accounts for a savings of over 246 million kg of CO2 emissions, which has been especially critical in countries like Taiwan where scooters are a dominant form of transportation.
Though considering that we all breathe the same air, such massive CO2 offsets anywhere in the world benefit us all.
Electrek‘s take
Color me impressed!
These specs at these prices are the definition of value.
The VIVA MIX is a great-looking scooter and the performance is exactly what I need for my own daily e-scooter commuting.
There are a few color options and combinations there that don’t quite strike my fancy, but that’s the point of options – you can choose whatever you’d like. And that grab bar on the back seems a bit small for a 55 mph electric scooter, but I’d probably swap on a back rest accessory anyways so I don’t have to worry about my pillion holding on when I drop that 6 kW of power.
I truly believe that the GoStation battery swapping model that Gogoro has pioneered is incredible and absolutely needs to be replicated in cities all over the world. There should be a line of VCs tripping over each other to throw cash at this company to build battery swap stations and air drop e-scooters all over the place.
Fun fact: Gogoro’s battery swap stations can even serve as local power stations in emergencies. They are grid-connected and can provide backup power during outages. Imagine if Texas had these giant battery swap stations dotting the state last week to offload emergency power where it was needed most. Things might have looked quite different.
There’s just so much to love here, and I’m rather impatiently biding my time until Gogoro finally graces the rest of the world with these awesome pieces of rolling tech.
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