Hacker News Reader

Comment by pingec | Hacker News Reader

I'm impatiently waiting for the Gogoro scooters to come to Europe to buy one, I don't know why they are taking so long :(

View on HN

I saw them in Berlin?

Afaik, they are only for rent and capped at 25kph (same Paris). And even those one cannot just buy as an individual I believe.

I would like to own the real deal like in Taiwan - without restrictions they can do up to 100 kph.

Well you need to pass your countries bike licence then.

As far as i understand Gogoro need to roll out their battery swap network/infra before they will sell the actual scooters as this is what their business model revolves around.

They released a battery charger that can be used at home last year, I suspected it was in preparation for western markets but maybe not...

By capping to 25km/h they can likely stay within the regulations for small mopeds (not even requiring a proper driver licence and having relaxed requirements for the vehicle). If they go to 45km/h they would be treated as a regular scooter that requires a regular drivers licence (or a smaller one for slow vehicles). If they go 100km/h they would be treated as a motorcycle, requiring a special driver licence for motorcycles, and having to comply to safety requirements for motorcycles etc.

I don't think we will see them going over 45 km/h in Europe

Yes, of course, I understand that. I already have a Honda scooter that does 100 kph but the Gogoro is superior in so many ways...

A Gogoro as a 25kph max vehicle is a way overpriced and overengineered product (with the price reflecting that).

https://joincoup.com/en/berlin/how-it-works

Reply on news.ycombinator.com