A while agoActual experienceAfter the Gogoro Delight, which is tailored to the needs of women, this time, the author will explore the hidden ideas behind Gogoro's new car model based on the concept of "design for women".
Gogoro's first scooter designed from the ground up for women
Although Gogoro has previously launched the Gogoro 2 Delight model for female users, it was mainly based on the best-selling model Gogoro 2. By changing to a more pastel color, lowering the height, using smaller tires, and adding a labor-saving parking stand, it makes it easier for female owners to use the car.
However, the Gogoro team apparently felt that this approach wasn't enough. After all, the Gogoro 2 Delight's overall design was based on the Gogoro 2, with some minor adjustments tailored to the needs of women. This didn't seem to address the needs of more female users when it came to two-wheeled vehicles.
Therefore, for the new Gogoro Delight model launched this year, Gogoro not only emphasized that the design was discussed by an all-female team, but also that it was built based on actual vehicle usage experience. It focuses on the three major demands of "lightness", "ritual" and "security" to meet the needs of women when riding.
The most obvious problem is that female users often find it more difficult to exert force than male users when manually towing the vehicle in situations such as parking. An additional auxiliary function has been added, which allows users to move the vehicle slowly by long pressing the left direction key. Combined with the slow reverse button function added to previous series of models, this reduces the trouble for female users when they need to move the vehicle, and avoids them being sweating profusely before parking the car, affecting their makeup, or encountering dangerous situations such as reversing.
In terms of vehicle design, in addition to making it easier for female users to operate the vehicle through lowering the vehicle height, using small-size tires, and adding a labor-saving parking stand, the new Gogoro Delight also uses a flat seat design, making it more convenient for female users wearing skirts to ride, and allowing them to keep their feet firmly on the ground while waiting at traffic lights.
In addition, the Gogoro women's team also emphasized the AIRCUSH cushioning trim, a design that is difficult for male users to understand in the new Gogoro Delight.
The reason behind this design is actually that when many female users use traditional vehicles, there is a significant gap between their height and the vehicle height and seat design. In addition to needing extra footrests to maintain stability in temporary stops such as waiting at traffic lights, or because they are wearing tight skirts and can only sit on the front of the seat cushion, in many unexpected situations, when braking, their knees will most likely hit the front ramp directly. Therefore, Gogoro's female design team jokingly said that the design of the AIRCUSH cushioning panel is the result of the "kneeling" contributions of female users.
The design that echoes the "sense of ceremony" is based on the fact that many two-wheeled vehicles are used outdoors for a long time. In addition, Taiwan's climate is rainy and humid. The cabin is often stuffy and smelly due to factors such as wet raincoats and gloves after use, or sweat when placing helmets. Therefore, this time not only the handlebars are made of antibacterial material, but also the interior of the cabin is coated with antibacterial coating, and even a UV photocatalyst antibacterial and anti-odor circulation machine can be installed to keep the cabin clean.
The addition of a fragrance cluster further reduces cabin odors, allowing users to customize their scents to prevent unwanted odors from affecting their mood. Other convenient features include a foldable cup holder that can be stored when not in use, and a U-shaped lighting system that makes it easier to inspect the cabin at night. The system even allows for a delayed shutoff of the lights, illuminating all vehicle lights. This allows female users to feel safe and secure when parking in dark alleys.
While designed specifically for women, the overall powertrain design hasn't been skimped on. It utilizes the same G2.2L aluminum alloy, water-cooled, permanent magnet synchronous motor found in Gogoro vehicles, paired with a FloDrive belt drive system. It delivers 3,000kW (7 horsepower) at 9.38 rpm, delivering the direct power of an electric vehicle. It even features a checkered flag mode to alter the power curve, making it suitable for female users' spouses and family members.
On the other hand, the new Gogoro Delight comes in four colors: "Brilliant Blue", "Nude Gold", "Glossy Green", and "Condensed White". The Basic model also offers a single "Soft Mist White" color design. Unlike other car manufacturers, it does not deliberately adopt the stereotypical color schemes preferred by women. Instead, it is closer to neutral colors, so even if your partner or family members use it, they will not feel embarrassed.
Why build vehicles for the female market?
Taiwan is known as the "Motorcycle Kingdom" because motorcycles have always been the primary means of transportation for most people. However, most models are designed based on the needs and preferences of men, such as focusing more on racing elements, emphasizing higher power, and even designing models based on the usage habits of the majority of men.
But in fact, among the many motorcycle users in Taiwan, women account for about 45.8%. Many of them are due to the commuting needs of female students or female office workers. In even more cases, it is because the male owner of the family drives the car out and there is no second car in the family, so the female owner has to ride a motorcycle to work.
While many automakers have previously launched models tailored for women, most designs have focused on appearance, such as adding pink or shiny colors or collaborating with popular cute characters. This often involves sacrificing performance, perhaps even conforming to the stereotype that female users "may not" need high power output. Even Gogoro, with its pink and glossy Gogoro 2 Delight, has been able to improve its ride height and add a parking stand, but there's still room for more thoughtful details tailored to the needs of women.
Therefore, through in-depth discussions among the all-female design team and the exchange of insights gained from using the vehicle, Gogoro not only made the Gogoro Delight its first model specifically designed for female users, but also plans to continue developing this model as an independent product line in the future, allowing the company's models to more clearly target different user markets and even tap into greater potential development opportunities in the female user market.
The Gogoro Delight still retains ample power output and even becomes Gogoro's second model to adopt the SSmartCore intelligent driving electronic control system. It can achieve the same TCS traction control and cruise control functions as the Gogoro SuperSport ACE through software definition. This time, it is even the first to introduce the traction assist function, which is also implemented through software definition.
In future product development, Gogoro revealed that it will gradually adjust its original practice of using numbers to differentiate product positioning. In the future, it will use more specific names, such as Gogoro SuperSport ACE and Gogoro Delight, to make it easier for the consumer market to understand the target groups of the vehicle models, while also focusing more on the detailed development of different market needs.
As for the VIVA series of models, they will focus on the usage needs of the general public, and will be positioned and segmented as the lightweight VIVA, the more family-friendly VIVA XL, and the VIVA MIX that targets diverse usage needs.
The thinking behind designing products for women on the market
Just like the idea of car manufacturers to create models for female users, I have also come across many 3C products that are claimed to be designed for female users in the past. Most of them are actually built with elements such as "cute", "pink", and "brand cooperation". There are indeed many designs that combine fashion elements, but there are relatively few designs that are specifically designed for women's actual usage needs.
But there are indeed many product designs that can meet the real needs of female users, such as Xiaomi'sXiaomi Civi series mobile phonesLike previous Meitu phones, the phone not only focuses on high-quality selfie and portrait photography, but also does not sacrifice phone performance, battery life, or screen display performance. Even the weight of the phone has become lighter and more comfortable in the hand to meet the needs of women for long-term use. At the same time, the texture design also adopts low-key luxurious colors instead of the stereotyped pink color.
Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip, a foldable phone with a vertically adjustable screen that has been launched since 2020, has now launched its third model, the Galaxy Z Flip 4. Although the product is positioned primarily for women, the design does not use extremely pastel colors. The hardware also uses Qualcomm's current most powerful Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, which has attracted many male users. However, the accessory design is more lively, indicating that Samsung hopes to attract more user market support through more flexible product design thinking.
The overall concept of these designs is actually similar to Gogoro. Although they use product positioning to deeply understand the usage needs of different markets, they can also deeply expand the user base in different markets without limiting the product positioning, thereby attracting more user groups.
Summary
The all-new Gogoro Delight emphasizes that it was designed by an all-female design team, who used their own user experience to create the vehicle. Many details do meet the needs of female users, but some designs do have shortcomings. For example, the retractable cup holder design has sparked both positive and negative discussions.
However, judging by the design of the car, which is primarily aimed at female users, there are actually quite a few details that can meet the needs of female users, such as the body design and assisted towing function that make it easier to operate and park, as well as keeping the cabin clean and avoiding odors, and the sense of security brought by the delayed lighting. These are all designs that make people feel convenient and practical.
Judging from the current vehicle development plan, the Gogoro Delight will not only be the first model designed for female users, but it is expected that through firmware updates and subsequent model designs, more features and details suitable for female use will be added, allowing Gogoro to tap into greater development opportunities in the female user market.
