After recently announcing the establishment of its 1500th station in Kenting, the southernmost part of Taiwan, Guangjie, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Guangyang, stated that it has now established 100 stations across Taiwan, including 1533 stations in the six major cities of Taiwan, and the remaining 1098 stations are located in Kinmen, Xiaoliuqiu, and Hualien-Taitung.
Among them, the six major regions have built 101 stations in Taipei City, accounting for 9%; 275 stations in New Taipei City, accounting for 25%; 111 stations in Taoyuan City, accounting for 10%; 324 stations in Taichung City, accounting for 30%; 97 stations in Tainan City, accounting for 9%; and 190 stations in Kaohsiung City, accounting for 17%.
At the same time, Guangjie General Manager Zhang Senxian emphasized that the number of battery swap stations installed in Wenshan District of Taipei, Xindian of New Taipei City, Sanchong and Luzhou of Banqiao, as well as Beitun, Taiping, Dali, Tanzi, Fengyuan of Taichung and Sanmin District of Kaohsiung has surpassed Gogoro. Although the number of stations installed in Fengshan of Kaohsiung, Xitun of Taichung, Xinzhuang of New Taipei City and Taoyuan is still behind Gogoro, it shows that they will catch up and surpass Gogoro in the future.
In the future development, Zhang Senxian revealed that the Ionex battery swap stations will be spread across Taiwan and can be located around the island. It is expected that the number of battery swap stations will exceed 2000 by the end of this year.
In addition to the recently announced site in Kenting, the southernmost point of Taiwan, Zhang Senxian said that the goal of "going west to Wuling" has been achieved. A battery swap station has been set up on the 52-kilometer route from the geographical center monument in Puli Town to the Wuling Monument. At an altitude of 2050 meters, it has become the highest battery swap station in Taiwan. Next, the goal of "going east to Wuling" will be completed by the end of this year, that is, a battery swap station will be set up on the 101-kilometer route from the Qixingtan Scenic Area in Hualien to the Wuling Monument in the west, allowing bike owners to enjoy the scenery of the Central Cross-Island Highway while riding without worrying about running out of power.
The next expansion goal includes extending the Ionex battery swap station power grid in Chiayi City to the Alishan Scenic Area.
In addition, Zhang Senxian also explained that the current Ionex battery swap stations will be located close to the users' battery swap needs. They will continue to set up battery swap stations through regional distribution cooperation channels and car dealerships, allowing users to swap batteries more conveniently nearby. In addition, the number of battery swap stations will be increased through the catering industry, hotel industry, homestay operators, as well as gas stations, convenience stores, chain stores, gas stations, parking lots and car washes.
Zhang Senxian emphasized that the Ionex battery swap station deployment will be expanded through "accelerated deployment," "extension of sites," and "densification of the power grid." In a subsequent statement, Kymco emphasized that it will continue to expand its battery swap stations in more areas of Taiwan, including outlying islands, and that it is open to collaborating with other brands to utilize Ionex battery swap station resources.
However, Kymco currently has no plans to launch a vehicle-sharing rental service that uses battery swap stations like GoShare. Instead, it is inclined to provide usage models for vehicles currently provided by WeMo and iRent.
At the press conference, Kymco also announced that the recently announced Keyless version of the S7 electric car will now be sold at NT$55500, while the entry-level electric car i-One will be sold at NT$33300. The company emphasized that not only will battery swapping provide users with greater convenience, but the price of the car will also be "on the side of consumers."
