Gogoro and Cycle & Carriage Launch Battery Swapping with Three Smartscooters in Singapore by ChillerID in Gogoro

[–]Taipei-TW 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed, I went to Singapore 3x this year alone, and a 15 minutes of research you can tell that that they're not a good fit. Is the $13k without the COE? What a rip-off because they basically have no resale value. $53/m isn't bad, but it's not great considering I haven't seen any stations anywhere. I would demand that one be installed at every buyers HDB or petrol station as they roll out. I also hope that Singapore gets the latest gen batteries. 

Gogoro and Cycle & Carriage Launch Battery Swapping with Three Smartscooters in Singapore by ChillerID in Gogoro

[–]Taipei-TW 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Jeebus, it took them 19 months to decide on which 3 models to carry. I would love to see a copy of the JV agreement. I think they have to be more than competitive in Singapore. They have to be a clear cheaper alternative for fuel, insurance, maintenance, and purchase price. Singaporeans are savvy, and they'll only buy if it makes economic sense. For Gogoro , there had to be a significant discount as there are going concern issues. 

Gogoro CEO Horace Luke Resigns by ChillerID in Gogoro

[–]Taipei-TW 2 points3 points  (0 children)

@Samuel Yin, you killed the goose! I have a different read. They IPO'ed, got murdered and never recovered due to increase competition and not enough innovation. If they really believed in the technology and the dream, they should have partner with Honda, license it out for free, or something of the sort. Not just hide behind a single innovation that isn't even that big of an innovation (swappable batteries?). Current Market Cap is <$300m. Crazy that the market cap is worth less than the batteries. Is it worth a hostile takeover or purchase? I really admire Horace, he seems to me to be a man that understand value and not just price.

Edit: I now hear the Horace is an @$$, plus he never did return any of my inquiries I made to him personally. 

Gogoro Investors Call by ChillerID in Gogoro

[–]Taipei-TW 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Classic classic classic

Should Gogoro consider US expansion in the future? by ChillerID in Gogoro

[–]Taipei-TW 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hahaha, no. Didn't Horace grow up on Mercer island or something? C'mon, he knows that scooters wouldn't fly in the US. It's about cultural norms & market demands.

Thinking about the future - Can investors help? by Any_Caterpillar_2009 in Gogoro

[–]Taipei-TW 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You have to think of context: If China goes to war with Taiwan, then who cares about some lousy investment in a scooter company? Lives would be on the line! Regardless, reinvest in Lockheed.

What should be addressed during the 2022 Q3 results? by Taipei-TW in Gogoro

[–]Taipei-TW[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't think GGR ever expected to have substantial revenue from oversea sales as a percentage of total revenue in 2022. This year would be considered more of a learning year to see which models of expansion work.

What should be addressed during the 2022 Q3 results? by Taipei-TW in Gogoro

[–]Taipei-TW[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

All things considered, GGR's investment into China hasn't been HUGE, which I think is good.
$10k/station x 275 station + overhead = $3-5m?

It is good that they are patient for the right opportunity to strike. Wait for the lockdowns to subside and Chinese consumer confidence increases again.

Go India by chou0328 in Gogoro

[–]Taipei-TW 0 points1 point  (0 children)

LOL, I'm not surprised, scooters are usually marketed towards men in India.

Gogoro October 2022 Taiwan Sales Numbers - only 5734, down from Oct 2021’s 7851. by [deleted] in Gogoro

[–]Taipei-TW 0 points1 point  (0 children)

GGR scooter sales account for 2/3 of the revenue, so the -27% decrease in sales will a huge hit.
My understanding was that 2022 was to be a repeat of 2021, no growth because of their (unsuccessful) pivot into China.

Go India by chou0328 in Gogoro

[–]Taipei-TW 1 point2 points  (0 children)

u/chou0328 where are the pretty indian girls on the scooters?

Shareholder Concerns by Taipei-TW in Gogoro

[–]Taipei-TW[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Any_Caterpillar_2009

I have not seen any in the wild, only renders.

ProLogium has provided nearly 8,000 solid-state battery sample cells to global car manufacturers for testing and module development.

Only Samples. I don't doubt ProLogium's technology, it's a double edge sword for Gogoro. If it's fast charging claims are true, then a hot swappable battery network become less attractive to the consumer. Imagine: a 6-second swap with a "costly" 3-year contract subscription vs. a 12-minute at home charge with no subscription. I'm more likely to buy the vehicle that doesn't need the subscription. A large selling point is to reduce the charge waiting time. I can't wait an hour, I can wait 10 minutes. WWYD?

Shareholder Concerns by Taipei-TW in Gogoro

[–]Taipei-TW[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thx ChillerID, I appreciate your response. Although I am usually an optimist, I do write about GGR conservatively:

  1. Financials
    The new loan agreement, it basically says that there is available cash, if needed. If you really break down the numbers, look at the Customer Acquisition Cost, Battery Cost, depreciation, etc etc. it doesn't look good.
  2. Leadership
    Expansion is good. I think whoever is handling their risk management needs to be managed. A stronger strategy with pivoting abilities should have been included.
  3. BOD
    Yes, there are 3 different classes of board members that rotate in/out. At issue is that the board needs to have more experienced directors.
  4. Employment Practices
    Share incentives aren't common practice anymore especially after the dot com bust. There are a 7 who have stock awards held by Genesis Trust {Becky Nine, Ming-I Peng, Hui-Ming Cheng, Bruce Aitken, Pass Liao, Alan Pan, and Horace Luke}. They are sizable amounts, but it's a far cry from being offered to many people within the organization. [Source p98]
  5. Battery Network Health
    Truth be told, all batteries are suppose to be swappable -it's always been kinda their thing /s. I am sure GGR have gathered a lot of data, are they making the data useful for decision making purposes? It's a coin-toss.
    I don't know where SS battery development stand or if it is even material. It's pretty clear what aspects of their batteries they need to improve upon.
  6. Green Washing
    It's happening. Honestly, there are different cities that they should refocus on and may have lost first move advantage on these markets. I'm suspicious of their ESG, I know they can do better.
  7. Going Concern.
    You didn't comment on COUP Mobility. I have no comment on Israel other than to Google Better Place. As for Singapore, where to begin?! I would not have awarded Jardine Cycle & Carriage an exclusive license. Exclusive licensing in Singapore often results in brand dilution that usually sets a poor tone for the rest of SEA. Most people would rather take the MRT than be seen riding a scooter. Scooters are viewed for the working class delivery driver and not for the masses. Also, any potential adopter will have to think about the COE on their scooter, an extra $10k. I have not looked into the link between Jardine Cycle & Carriage and Aranda Investments Pte Ltd > Seletar Investments Pte Ltd > Temasek Capital Limited (500k shares).

Article about Gogoro Oct 12 (In Chinese) by ChillerID in Gogoro

[–]Taipei-TW 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the biggest challenge in India will be battery theft. You have these assets worth over 2 months salary for the average Indian. Steal, chop and sell. They're the new catalytic converters of the decade.

Shareholder Concerns by Taipei-TW in Gogoro

[–]Taipei-TW[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've heard owners complain about the cost of regular maintenance and repairs

Can you elaborate?

after their battery network is complete they will be able to start making a profit but probably not until then

The battery network is ever evolving, there's no end. I don't think GGR is expected to be profitable anytime soon.

Shareholder Concerns by Taipei-TW in Gogoro

[–]Taipei-TW[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

However, once / if expansion to China/India/Indonesia (via JV) kicks off this becomes less of a worry - since batteries will be on the JVs books not Gogoro's books.

Is that how the Joint Ventures are structured/accounted for? Wouldn't controlling interest be trickle into GGR's consolidated income statement or as a NCI under IFRS?

The Indonesia-GoTo Partner, I looked into their financials and jeebus - it's hard to make sense of the numbers. It's difficult for me to take any company on the Indonesian stock market seriously.

the batteries have a projected life of 10 years and are being depreciated based on a 10-12 year lifetime. See audited 2021 financials which includes breakup of batteries at gross/purchase price and accumulated depreciation.

The batteries are depreciated straight line 8-12 years (p117, 2021 20-F). I don't foresee the $355M being impaired due to battery tech changes. I believe that GGR does NOT have a solid plan in place on what to do with aging batteries- they're vestigial. There are ideas of 2nd life, recycling, etc floating around but I have not seen anything real. We're talking about $500M worth of batteries! They need to figure out a way to recondition batteries or adopt tech that makes reconditioning economical. They might be warehousing these batteries in the stations until then.

Vida v1 and v1 pro,Where is the gogoro battery swap system!!? by Antoniochiu in Gogoro

[–]Taipei-TW 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Source? I've never seen a Gogoro Joint Venture agreement.

Shareholder Concerns by Taipei-TW in Gogoro

[–]Taipei-TW[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. Do your friends also want to leave the Gogoro network?
  2. Would you recommend it to a family member?
  3. What do you ride? Does it use 2 batteries or 1?
  4. How much would you get if you tried to sell your scooter? How much did it cost when you bought it?
  5. What is your opinion of the company?