Gogoro launches new Pulse electric scooter as highest performance model yet
After several recent international expansion announcements, Gogoro unveiled its latest electric scooter today. The new model, known as the Gogoro Pulse, relies on the company’s existing swappable battery standard yet ushers in a technological revolution as Gogoro’s highest-performance electric scooter yet.
The design is also starkly modern, swapping the bubbly curves of past Gogoro models for sharp angles and even more embedded tech. That’s quite a feat, considering Gogoro’s existing models have long been regarded as some of the most tech-forward electric scooters on the market.
“Gogoro has been widely recognized for its contribution to the transformation of the urban two-wheel industry with its integration of cutting-edge innovation, performance, and design that created a smart new electric user experience,” said Horace Luke, founder and CEO of Gogoro. “The Pulse introduces a new and exhilarating Gogoro riding experience that utilizes our latest innovations in electric performance and aerodynamic efficiency with advanced lighting and an immersive interactive user experience.”
The Gogoro Pulse uses a brand-new motor developed by the company to power the scooter’s Hyper Drive powertrain. The new 9 kW-rated H1 motor is paired with the company’s new Hypercore, a powerful smart system that delivers state-of-the-art traction control – a critical piece of kit for a scooter that puts out 378 Nm (279 lb-ft) of torque at the rear wheel. For reference, that’s over twice the torque of a Ducati Panigale V4, in case anyone was counting.
The motor is said to offer a 0-50 km/h (31 mph) time of 3.05 seconds, which should blow away essentially any other 125cc-equivalent scooter, gas or electric. Gogoro hasn’t shared the scooter’s top speed, but considering it offers around 50% more power than the company’s existing 95-100 km/h (59-62 mph) scooters, it is likely no slouch in the speed department.
That traction control is also integral for implementing a series of new ride modes that are now available from a dial on the handlebars, with modes including Range, Dirt, City, Touring, Track, and Custom mode.
Interestingly, not only is the H1 motor more powerful than previous Gogoro powertrains, but it is also more efficient. That’s due, in part, by a new cooling method developed by the company. While Gogoro already used liquid cooling on previous models, the Pulse combines it with ducted air-cooling for even more effective heat dissipation. Gogoro also spent considerable efforts on the vehicle’s aerodynamics, ensuring it slips through the wind tunnel (and down the road) more efficiently than any other model.
The just-announced Gogoro Pulse comes with the company’s new Smart Cockpit dashboard built around a massive 10.25-inch panoramic HD touch display that integrates with Gogoro’s iQ Touch HD user interface. The new iQ Touch HD system offers a variety of new features and services including different ride modes, turn-by-turn GPS navigation with real-time traffic information, and Gogoro GoStation locations for quick and convenient battery swaps.
Gogoro’s Smart Cockpit makes the Pulse the first two-wheel vehicle in the world to be powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon QWM2290 digital chassis.
If anything, it looks much more like what you’d see on the dashboard of a luxury car, not an electric scooter.
Continuing with the luxury car theme, the Gogoro Pulse uses a new advanced active-matrix lighting system with 13 independent LED units to create a new level of safety, awareness, and convenience. The system uses parallel arrays of LED units to create the first-ever matrix-sequenced headlight in the urban two-wheel industry.
Each of the 13 individual LED units actively switches on and off depending on various dynamic riding factors to adapt to the rider’s speed, turns, and weather conditions. As the Pulse’s speed increases, the active-matrix lights dynamically extend light further out to provide more visibility at increased distances and create more time for the rider to react appropriately. The headlight also uses active-corner lighting to create a wider band of light aimed in the direction of each turn, further illuminating deeper into the inside of the turn.
The Gogoro Pulse will also include Gogoro’s scooter key in the Apple Wallet app and employ the built-in Apple Find My feature to locate the scooter, which is helpful if the scooter is stolen or simply lost in a large parking lot. With the scooter key in the Apple Wallet app, the Gogoro Pulse can lock, unlock, and start with a tap of an iPhone or Apple Watch device.
Gogoro expects the new model to roll out to consumers in late Q2 2024, though pricing details aren’t yet available. Thanks to Gogoro’s battery-swapping model though, the company is able to charge less for the scooter as customers don’t actually buy the batteries, instead paying a lower monthly fee for battery swapping as a service. In Gogoro’s domestic market of Taiwan, the company has thousands of swap stations dotting the country and sees hundreds of thousands of battery swaps daily.
Electrek’s Take
This is seriously exciting, and not just because I’m already a daily Gogoro rider.
The increase in power has me jonesing for a test ride, and I thought my Gogoro S2 performance was already quite powerful! Plus that 10.25″ screen for built-in navigation is awesome. I know it does a thousand and one other things, but just not needing my phone on the handlebars for GPS navigation is awesome.
I’ll be curious to see pricing and speed figures, but this is shaping up to be a serious urban assault vehicle that will likely be able to handle highway jaunts as well. I mean, my Gogoro S2 Performance does just under 60 mph and I already take it on urban highways, so this even higher-performance scooter should be ready for just about anything.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Subaru is teasing a new electric hot hatch that will spearhead a new generation of STI. Is it the WRX STI we’ve been waiting for?
Subaru teases new electric hot hatch
In March 2022, fans were disappointed after Subaru announced plans to end production of the gas-powered WRX STI.
Subaru said the move was due to the shift toward electrification and stricter emissions regulations in places like Europe.
Although the Japanese automaker said at the time it was exploring opportunities for a next-gen WRX STI, including an electrified version, Subaru confirmed it will not be produced on the new WRX platform.
It’s been over three and a half years, but we might finally see the WRX STI return in electric form. After teasing a new electric hot hatch on Wednesday, Subaru said the Performance-E STI concept will spearhead a new generation of vehicles.
The image offers a glimpse of Subaru’s new design with slim, three-line LED lights and a sportier roofline compared to the internal combustion engine (ICE) version that Subaru also previewed.
Subaru is keeping most details secret for now, but said the new electric hot hatch offers “a design that evokes the brand’s heritage while providing a driver-friendly layout and a comfortable, spacious interior.” It will be equipped with new tech, offering “intuitive, exhilarating driving experiences,” the company said.
Subaru will unveil the new STI concepts at the Japan Mobility Show later this month. Atsushi Osaki, Subaru’s president, will deliver a press conference at the Subaru booth on October 29 at 12:30 PM (JST).
The booth will feature the two new STI models, alongside the Trailseeker, Subaru’s second global EV. It will also showcase more rugged Forester Wilderness and Outback Wilderness prototypes, as well as a 1982 Subaru GL Family Huckster.
Subaru is joining Hyundai, Volkswagen, Kia, and a few other automakers planning to introduce new electric hot hatches.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Tesla is finally running TV/streaming ads, but they are not to sell electric cars. They are to promote a vote for Tesla shareholders to approve Elon Musk’s next compensation package worth up to $1 trillion.
As a company, under Elon Musk’s leadership, Tesla has famously been against advertising. The CEO is even on the record saying that he “hates advertising” and that “other companies spend money on advertising and manipulating public opinion, Tesla focuses on the product.”
However, that was before he acquired Twitter, now X, which relies heavily on advertising.
After that, he started to push Tesla to do some advertising, but the company quickly stopped or greatly reduced its advertising efforts.
Last month, we reported that Tesla’s advertising effort picked back up with ads to encourage Tesla shareholders to vote for Musk’s new unprecedented CEO compensation package worth up to $1 trillion.
The renewed advertising effort was limited to Google and social media ads or sponsored posts, which was also the case in Tesla’s previously mentioned advertising efforts.
Now, Tesla is even running TV-like ads on streaming services. Paramount+ watchers were surprised to see this ad running on the streaming service this week:
This is one of the very first TV-style video ads that Tesla is paying to air, but it is not to sell EVs.
While the automaker is struggling to sell its existing vehicles, the ad exclusively features future products that are not yet available for sale, and it serves only to ask shareholders to vote in accordance with the board’s recommendation at the upcoming shareholders’ meeting.
Electrek’s Take
It’s funny because I was talking to a friend of mine who came back on a long rural road trip with his Cybertruck last week.
He was saying that he was surprised how many people in rural areas not only didn’t know about the Cybertruck, but they didn’t even know much about Tesla. Yet, they were curious about it and electric vehicles in general.
We were discussing how these people are not as active on social media, and that Tesla would greatly benefit from advertising its vehicles in more traditional channels, such as TV/streaming ads, with clear messaging that relates to them, such as the cost of ownership and utility.
I joked that Tesla will do TV ads about Elon’s compensation plan before they do about their EVs. It literally took less than a week for Tesla to prove me right.
There is just no reasonable justification for this. It’s as simple as Elon is bigger than Tesla, a company of 100,000+ people.
You can’t make a viable argument against the fact that this would be money better spent advertising Tesla’s available cars when the company is currently operating its production lines at 60% capacity and the compensation package would be better spent on tens of thousands of full-time employees whose contribution to Tesla is much greater than Elon’s at this point.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Toyota’s smallest electric vehicle might actually hit the road. Thanks to new funding from the UK government, Toyota is one step closer to turning this pint-sized EV with a solar roof into a reality.
The Toyota FT-Me is a micro EV with a solar roof
It may be only 2.5 meters (98″) long, but Toyota believes the tiny electric car could be an affordable way to zip around the city.
The FT-Me is “a ground breaking concept” that blends premium design with affordability, Toyota said after unveiling it in March.
After securing a £15 million ($20 million) investment from the UK government’s DRIVE35 program, Toyota is moving closer to actually launching the pint-sized EV.
The Advanced Propulsion Centre UK, which manages the funding, announced that the £30.3 million ($40,500) project includes a £15 million grant from the Department for Business and Trade. Toyota is expected to fund the other roughly £15 million.
Toyota is working with several partners, including urban delivery specialist ELM Mobility and the University of Derby, to develop a new lightweight battery electric vehicle (BEV) in the L6e category.
Meanwhile, Savcor will design and develop the solar roof, which Toyota claims can extend a vehicle’s range by 20%, or about 20 to 30 km per day.
The pint-sized EV will be manufactured at Toyota Manufacturing UK’s Burnaston site, where it currently builds the Corolla.
Although it’s about the size of a golf cart, Toyota promises the micro EV fits two passengers comfortably. The company also claims the FT-Me’s propulsion system uses 3X less energy per km than current high-capacity electric vehicles.
Inspired by a jet helmet, Toyota said the vehicle’s compact design makes it perfect for getting around the city. It only takes up about half a parking spot.
Toyota’s pint-sized EV could arrive as a potential rival to the Citroen Ami. The Ami starts at £7,695 ($10,000) OTR, offering a WLTP range of up to 46 miles.
Would you buy Toyota’s micro EV for about $10,000? It could be a fun (and efficient) way to zip around town. It’s basically a futuristic electric golf cart with a solar roof. Unfortunately, it likely will never make it to the US with America’s growing love for big trucks and SUVs.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024