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Gogoro’s electric scooters with swappable batteries have always been focused on environmental responsibility. But now the company is teaming up with leading household consumer goods brand MUJI to take things even further. And it involves your plastic waste.

MUJI is a Japanese-based home goods designer brand whose name actually translates to “no-brand quality goods.” The company is known for its stylish, high-quality, and affordably priced products that cover everything from stationary, furniture, clothing, and even food items.

In a new three-way partnership, MUJI, Gogoro, and world-renowned Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa have joined forces to collaborate on the newly designed Gogoro VIVA ME and Gogoro VIVA MIX ME electric scooters. They’ve also produced a complementary range of merchandise and accessories.

The Gogoro VIVA line of affordably priced electric scooters was first unveiled back in 2019, debuting polypropylene body panels produced from recycled material. Now the new VIVA ME and VIVA MIX ME models, produced in conjunction with MUJI and Fukasawa, are taking that second-life manufacturing idea even further.

As Gogoro founder and CEO Horace Luke explained:

Naoto Fukasawa offers such a fresh and unique approach to simplicity, functionality and beauty in everything he creates, so it was an honor to work with him on our new Smartscooter designs and accessories. This collaboration between Gogoro, MUJI and Naoto Fukasawa establishes a strong unified voice in promoting sustainable lifestyles in Taiwan and across the region, not just for transportation but across all aspects of life. Our joint ‘Recycling for Good’ initiative promotes the reduction of urban pollution through encouraging the public to recycle plastics at Gogoro and MUJI stores and their reuse in our new Smartscooters.

That Recycling for Good program that Luke mentioned is a new initiative that debuted as part of the partnership.

Recycling for Good encourages people in Taiwan, Gogoro’s domestic market, to participate in recycling polypropylene plastic waste at Gogoro and MUJI stores and empower them to take small actions toward building a more sustainable future.

Polypropylene objects recovered during the Recycling for Good initiative are screened, cut, granulated, reshaped, and regenerated into the body panels of the newly unveiled Gogoro Smartscooters. The polypropylene body material is also made of the same material as MUJI’s polypropylene storage series.

As MUJI Taiwan general manager Akihiro Yoshida explained:

MUJI and Gogoro are continuing the concept of a sustainable lifestyle and together have created this new series of Gogoro Smartscooters that are optimized for life and the environment. Gogoro’s commitment to being a sustainable business is aligned with MUJI’s business philosophy. MUJI is not just a store that sells goods, but it creates a simple and pleasant life through comprehensive sustainable thinking and takes practical action for sustainability of society and the earth.

The steps add to Gogoro’s impressive environmental figures, with the company’s 2.5 million users already responsible for reducing 680 million kg (approximately 750,000 tons) of CO2 emissions.

Gogoro’s electric scooters and battery-swapping network are designed to be a simple and easy way to replace the need for riders to recharge their electric scooters.

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Instead of seeking out charging infrastructures like a conventional electric motorcycle or e-scooter, riders simply roll up to a Gogoro GoStation and swap a pair of depleted batteries for new ones.

The process takes as little as six seconds, meaning riders can essentially instantly “recharge” and be on their way.

The company has expanded aggressively after dominating its domestic market of Taiwan, spreading its operations to nearly a dozen countries so far.

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Troubling times for Tesla, Nissan, and Dodge – plus some fun yellow stuff!

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Troubling times for Tesla, Nissan, and Dodge – plus some fun yellow stuff!

Tesla’s Q2 results are in, and they are way, way down from Q2 of 2024. At the same time, Nissan seems to be in serious trouble and the first-ever all-electric Dodge muscle car is getting recalled because its dumb engine noises are the wrong kind of dumb engine noises. All this and more on today’s deeply troubled episode of Quick Charge!

We’ve also got an awesome article from Micah Toll about a hitherto unexplored genre of electric lawn equipment, a $440 million mining equipment deal, and a list of incompetent, corrupt, and stupid politicians who voted away their constituents’ futures to line their pockets.

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple PodcastsSpotifyTuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.

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Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.


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Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

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OpenAI says Robinhood’s tokens aren’t equity in the company

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OpenAI says Robinhood's tokens aren't equity in the company

Jaque Silva | Nurphoto | Getty Images

OpenAI is distancing itself from Robinhood‘s latest crypto push after the trading platform began offering tokenized shares of OpenAI and SpaceX to users in Europe.

“These ‘OpenAI tokens’ are not OpenAI equity,” OpenAI wrote on X. “We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it.”

The company said that “any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval — we did not approve any transfer,” and warned users to “please be careful.”

Robinhood announced the launch Monday from Cannes, France, as part of a broader product showcase focused on tokenized equities, staking, and a new blockchain infrastructure play. The company’s stock surged above $100 to hit a new all-time high following the news.

“These tokens give retail investors indirect exposure to private markets, opening up access, and are enabled by Robinhood’s ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle,” a Robinhood spokesperson said in response to the OpenAI post.

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Robinhood offered 5 euros worth of OpenAI and SpaceX tokens to eligible EU users who signed up to trade stock tokens by July 7. The assets are issued under the EU’s looser investor restrictions via Robinhood’s crypto platform.

“This is about expanding access,” said Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s SVP and GM of crypto. “The goal with tokenization is to let anyone participate in this economy.”

The episode highlights the dynamic between crypto platforms seeking to democratize access to financial products and the companies whose names and equity are being represented on-chain

U.S. users cannot access these tokens due to regulatory restrictions.

Robinhood hits record high as OpenAI, SpaceX go on-chain

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BYD launches new discounts, offering +50% off smart driving tech

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BYD launches new discounts, offering +50% off smart driving tech

Despite the warnings, BYD continues introducing new discounts. On Wednesday, BYD’s luxury off-road brand began offering over 50% Huawei’s smart driving tech.

BYD introduces new discounts on smart driving tech

After BYD cut prices again in May, the China Automobile Manufacturers Association (CAMA) warned that the ultra-low prices are “triggering a new round of price war panic.”

Although they didn’t single out BYD, it was pretty obvious. BYD slashed prices across 22 of its vehicles by up to 34%, triggering several automakers to follow suit in China.

BYD’s cheapest EV, the Seagull, typically starts at about $10,000 (66,800 yuan). After the price cuts, the Seagull is listed at under $8,000 (55,800 yuan).

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It doesn’t look like China’s EV leader plans to slow down anytime soon. Fang Cheng Bao, BYD’s luxury off-road brand, introduced new discounts on Huawei’s smart driving tech on Wednesday.

The limited-time offer cuts the price of Huawei’s Qiankun Intelligent Driving High-end Function Package to just 12,000 yuan ($1,700).

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BYD Fang Cheng Bao 5 SUV testing (Source: Fang Cheng Bao)

Buyers who order the smart driving tech in July will save over 50% compared to its typical price of 32,000 yuan ($4,500).

Earlier this year, Fang Chang Bao launched the Tai 3, its most affordable vehicle, starting at 139,800 yuan ($19,300). The Tai 3 is about the size of the Tesla Model Y, but costs about half as much.

BYD-Tai-3-electric-SUV
BYD Fang Cheng Bao Tai 3 electric SUV (Source: Fang Cheng Bao)

The Tai 3 will spearhead a new sub-brand of electric SUVs following the more premium Bao 8 and Bao 5 hybrid SUVs.

BYD’s luxury off-road brand sold 18,903 vehicles last month, up 50% from May and 605% compared to last year. Fang Cheng Bao has now sold over 10,000 vehicles for three consecutive months.

The Chinese EV giant sold 382,585 vehicles in total in June, an increase of 12% from last year. In the first half of the year, BYD’s cumulative sales reached over 2.1 million, a YOY increase of 33%.

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