Horace Luke, founder and CEO of the world's leading electric vehicle battery replacement company Gogoro, has recently announced his resignation. The move comes amid a period of mounting financial losses for the company and follows allegations of possible subsidy fraud in its home market of Taiwan.
I The Taipei Times described the announcement as a bombshell. Luke built Gogoro from the ground up while being heavily involved in the design and operation of the company, from the smallest details to the grand strategy.
“After much consideration, I have made the difficult decision to resign from my position as CEO and chairman of Gogoro,” Luke explained in the announcement. “This decision was not easy, but I believe that it is the right time for me and the company to change the leadership as we enter the next stage of growth. My confidence in Gogoro's bright future remains strong. I will always be a great advocate for Gogoro, and I look forward to seeing the company continue to grow and succeed from a new place.”
Luke and company provided a reason to leave.
Gogoro's board has appointed Henry Chiang as interim CEO. Chiang served as Gogoro's general manager from 2022 and head of the company's GoShare team from 2018 to 2022.
The Board also appointed Tamon Tseng as the new director and Chairman of the Board to replace Luke.
Gogoro's electric scooters and batteries are a globally popular green-black icon, showing hundreds of thousands of battery replacements per day from a large user base. This program is considered the first practical step in battery replacement to demonstrate effectiveness on a large scale, accounting for hundreds of millions of battery replacements to date.
However, during a period of rapid growth and international expansion over the past few years, the company has seen financial losses balloon.
Reports also began to circulate last week of subsidy fraud, with allegations that Gogoro received subsidies from the Taiwanese government intended for local manufacturers while failing to disclose that some of its components were produced in China.
Gogoro, which trades on the NASDAQ, filed a Form 6-K report with the SEC after Luke resigned, explaining that the company had conducted an internal investigation into the alleged funding fraud.
“During such an investigation, the Company identified certain items that are against the law that caused the Company to inadvertently install certain imported items in some of its vehicles,” said the document. “The company has reported the supply chain irregularities to local authorities and is fully cooperating with local authorities in their investigation, while continuing its own internal investigation.”
Electrek's Take
Well, this is not the news I was hoping to talk about today.
I am a Gogoro myself (my Gogoro is my daily driver car with my wife) and I have long been a fan of this company's technology. Gogoro has spread across much of Asia and, more recently, the Middle East and South America, talking about how technology works – something I know from using it every day.
But doing such a big job is not cheap, especially if you invest in large local factories for scooters and batteries. Gogoro's statement to the SEC describes its use of foreign-made parts in other vehicles as “ignorant,” and it is unclear whether Luka has committed any wrongdoing. But as the leader of a company, especially one that proudly involves itself in almost every aspect and often glosses over the smallest details, it is clear that the bull must stand with him.
We hope Gogoro can get through this, as the company's electric motorcycles and key battery replacement technology have proven to be such a powerful weapon in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in countries across Asia that rely heavily on combustion engine motorcycles for transportation. Many Westerners have asked me when Gogoro will expand to Europe and North America, so the international demand is clearly there. Now we need to trust that Gogoro will be able to get things right and continue his important mission of bringing affordable, high-tech electric vehicles and battery replacement technology to the parts of the world where it makes the biggest difference.
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