Gogoro Seems To Be In Some Serious Trouble, But There’s a Ray Of Hope

The future of Gogoro ultimately remains very murky.

By: Enrico Punsalang

Oct 9, 2024 at 9:33am ET

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We’ve talked quite a bit about Taiwanese e-mobility giant Gogoro, and have done so in quite a positive light, to be honest. The company’s rapid growth and revolutionary battery-swapping infrastructure changed the e-mobility landscape in many countries all over the world. However, just like all things in life, Gogoro is far from perfect.

It seems that Gogoro’s been going through quite a rough patch lately, as it faces some financial issues, legal problems, and internal difficulties. You see, last month, Gogoro’s founder and CEO Horace Luke stepped down from his position, sending shockwaves throughout the e-mobility industry.

Luke didn’t disclose the exact reason for his departure, but it’s speculated that the company’s lackluster financial performance is one of the reasons for him leaving. Another major problem that Gogoro faced, and one that could also be linked to Luke’s departure, was a fraud scandal involving government subsidies in Taiwan.

Gogoro CEO Horace Luke stepped down following financial issues and legal concerns.

Gogoro

You see, Gogoro claims that it manufactures its electric two-wheelers—particularly the Viva model—in Taiwan, with domestically sourced parts and components. As such, the company is entitled to monetary subsidies from the Taiwanese government. However, allegations arose that the company was in fact making use of Chinese-made components, all while claiming that its parts were of domestic origin.

Following the subsidy fraud scandal, Gogoro’s reputation understandably took a hit. The company’s stock price dropped by 92% from $14.02 USD in 2022 down to just $1.05 USD—a clear sign that investors and key stakeholders in the company have lost confidence in Gogoro. To make things even worse, it was reported that Gogoro’s losses inflated all the way to $20.1 million in the second quarter of 2024—up more than three times that of the same period in 2023.

So, what comes next for Gogoro? With its founder and CEO no longer in control, financial problems, and not to mention, a serious legal issue all on its plate, it’s clear that Gogoro’s in some really hot water at the moment.

There is, however, a modicum of good news in all this. According to a report by DigiTimes Asia, on October 1, Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs' Industrial Development Administration stated that there was “insufficient evidence” to conclude that Gogoro had violated any domestic production regulations. As such, Gogoro has been cleared of the whole false origin debacle.

Nevertheless, the administration stated that a comprehensive review of all Gogoro models on sale will be implemented to ensure that the company is in compliance with all domestic production standards. So depending on what the administration will find, Gogoro may or may not be out of the woods just yet.

Gogoro's stock price has rebounded slightly in recent days, but remains at rock bottom.

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As of this writing, Gogoro’s stock price has rebounded very slightly, but is still pretty much at rock bottom. It’s still at the lowest it’s ever been pretty much since its first IPO back in 2022.

Quite frankly, it’s hard to predict what comes next for Gogoro. The Taiwanese company has spread its roots to countries all over the world. It has even established partnerships with some of the biggest names in the energy and technology industries. Could these efforts be enough to keep the company afloat until such time it regains the trust of investors and rebuilds momentum? Or could all this be too little, too late, and we'll see Gogoro join the growing list of EV tech startups that have gone under?