After recently launching its newest electric scooter, the Gogoro JEGO Smartscooter, deliveries of the hot-selling electric scooters are ready to begin. This marks a new page for Gogoro, the world’s largest battery-swapping network operator, and makes swappable battery electric scooters more affordable than ever.

The Gogoro JEGO launched in Taiwan last month, quickly racking up over 6,500 fully-paid pre-orders in that short time.

Gogoro already dominates the local market with around a 90% share of new electric scooter registrations in Taiwain. According to Gogoro, JEGO sales are showing the strongest demand for a Gogoro vehicle since the beginning of the pandemic.  The company’s domestic market of Taiwan is by far its largest, though Gogoro scooters and battery swapping stations have now expanded to much of Asia as Gogoro expands its footprint.

With an introductory price that drops as low as just US $760 after government subsidies, the JEGO is positioned as an affordable new model to open up the local market further and entice more price-sensitive combustion engine scooter riders.

The scooter was built around Gogoro’s well-known battery standard, allowing one or two battery packs to power the vehicle around cities and urban areas. Riders buy the scooter but don’t own the batteries, instead subscribing to a swapping plan. That helps reduce the price of the scooter further and ensures Gogoro can get the longest life out of the batteries possible via intelligent charging and swapping doctrines. Having started its swapping programs back in 2015, Gogoro has learned that its batteries are lasting even longer than originally anticipated, with a new estimated lifespan of around 12 years.

An affordable new battery-swapping subscription plan was also announced along with the JEGO, offering new riders a US $7/month plan to cover up to 1,000 km (621 miles) of riding per month when signing up for a three-year plan.

The JEGO’s goal of converting existing combustion engine scooter riders over to electric seems to be working well.

“JEGO has touched a positive chord with a new market segment of Taiwan riders – nearly all of our 6,500 pre-order customers are first-time EV riders. They are looking for a smart, convenient, and sustainable vehicle and are not just embracing JEGO’s innovation and design but also access to Gogoro’s vast battery-swapping network,” said Horace Luke, founder and CEO of Gogoro. “Initial JEGO sales are surpassing our expectations and showing the strongest demand we’ve seen since the beginning of the pandemic. With deliveries beginning this week, we expect to realize JEGO’s pre-order revenue this quarter.”

At the same time as Gogoro expands its entry-level offering with the JEGO, Gogoro is also preparing for the rollout of its recently revealed premium-level Gogoro Pulse. That high-performance model, which also uses the same Gogoro swappable battery packs, includes a number of automotive-style features never before seen in the electric scooter market.

The dual-pronged approach reveals Gogoro’s ability to innovate on both ends of the market, serving both entry-level riders and higher-performance enthusiasts.

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from Electrek. Quick Charge is now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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Stories we discuss in this episode (with links):

Tesla may start selling its Optimus humanoid robot next year, says Elon Musk

Tesla is in talks with ‘one major automaker about licensing Full Self-Driving’

BETA hits its latest eVTOL milestone, transitioning mid-air with a pilot onboard [Video]

Tesla announces change of plans to build cheaper electric cars

Tesla teases its upcoming Uber-like self-driving ride-hailing app

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Amid a shifting strategy, Ford (F) reported first-quarter earnings Wednesday, beating analyst expectations. However, due to fierce pricing pressure, Ford’s EV revenue fell 84% in Q1 2024.

Ford shifts EV strategy amid sales upswing

Despite EV sales surging 86% to 20,233 in the first three months of 2024, Ford is pulling back. All Ford electric models saw double (or triple) digit sales growth.

The F-150 Lightning remained the top-selling electric pickup in the US, with 7,743 models sold, up 80% over last year. Ford’s Mustang Mach-E was the second best-selling electric SUV in the US, with 9,589 vehicles delivered, up 77% over Q1 2023.

Meanwhile, Ford’s commercial Pro unit continues to appear as a dark horse for the automaker, with EV adoption rising 40%. Ford E-Transit sales were up 148% in Q1, with 2,891 units sold.

Ford’s growth propelled it to second in the US EV market (if you don’t include combined Hyundai and Kia sales).

The sales surge comes after Ford introduced significant price cuts and savings on the Mach-E and Lightning earlier this year.

Despite rising EV sales, Ford announced it is pushing back EV production at its BlueOval City facility to 2026. It is also delaying the launch of its three-row electric SUV to focus on smaller, more affordable EVs.

In the meantime, Ford said it would introduce more hybrids to the mix as it develops its next-gen electric models.

Ford’s Model e EV unit had a net loss of around $4.7 billion last year with “extremely competitive pricing” and new investments. Meanwhile, EBIT loss slipped to $1.6 billion in Q4.

Analysts expect Ford to report $40.10 billion in revenue in its Q1 2024 earnings report. Ford’s Model e, EV unit, is expected to generate around $24.5 billion in revenue with an EBIT loss of $1.65.

Ford Q1 2024 earnings results

Ford reported first-quarter 2024 revenue rose 3% to $42.8 billion, topping estimates of around $40.10 billion. Ford also topped adjusted EPS estimates with $0.49 per share in Q1 vs $0.42 expected.

The automaker posted net income of $1.3 billion, down from $1.8 billion last year. Adjusted EBIT fell 18% to $2.8 billion due to lower prices and the timing of the F-150 launch.

Ford Blue, the company’s ICE business, saw revenue fall 13%, again due to the new F-150 launch.

Ford Pro was the growth driver, with volume and revenue up 21% and 36%, respectively. The commercial and software business had an EBIT margin of nearly 17%, with first-quarter revenue of $18 billion.

Meanwhile, Ford Model e revenue slipped 84% due to “industry-wide” pricing pressure. With lower prices, the unit’s EBIT loss increased YOY to $1.3 billion. That’s about a $64,000 loss for every EV sold in Q1. However, this is still down from the $1.6 billion EBIT loss in Q4 2023.

Ford expects EV costs to improve going forward, but it will be offset by top-line pressure.

The automaker is maintaining full-year EBIT guidance, expecting to hit the higher end of the $10 billion to $12 billion range. The company now expects to generate between $6.5 billion and $7.5 billion in adjusted free cash flow, up from the previous $6 billion to $7 billion.

According to Ford, the updates reflect recent cost-cutting actions, like the delayed EV investments. Ford’s update comes after rival GM also raised full-year guidance this week.

Meanwhile, Ford is releasing a new brand campaign called “Freedom of Choice” to promote its gas, hybrid, and EV lineup amid the strategy shift.