BIZ BUZZ: Gogoro e-scooters: Pull the plug or not?

A year and a half after bringing Taiwanese electric scooter brand Gogoro to the Philippines, Globe Group’s 917Ventures and parent conglomerate Ayala Corp. are now in a dilemma on whether to pull the plug or endure the financial drag a little bit more.

Biz Buzz sources familiar with the issue intimated that the Zobel family-led group contemplates shutting down the local operations of Gogoro—the showroom of which occupies prime commercial space at Greenbelt 4—but ends up flip-flopping whenever the Taiwanese head office pleads its case.

The concept of promoting planet-friendly mobility is indeed noble. However, we hear that Gogoro isn’t getting any traction on local ground. Its e-scooters are simply too expensive for this populous but budget-constrained market. For the same published price of P255,000 to as much as P285,000 per scooter, consumers may just go for a secondhand car.

The original plan, we hear, was to launch the sleek top-of-the-line models first to catch the attention of two-wheeled vehicle enthusiasts, establish brand credibility, then roll out much cheaper models, around the P50,000 price point, to reach a broader market.

Unfortunately, the shipment of affordable models never happened: Taiwan could not deliver, at first blaming high tariffs. But even when the tariffs had been slashed (e-bikes are included in the list of electric vehicles that enjoy zero tariffs until 2028), the head office still could not deliver.

Recent developments in Taiwan, however, may just put the country’s oldest conglomerate under more pressure to break up with the scooter maker.

Grappling with widening losses and a regulatory probe on alleged subsidiary fraud (made-in-China components had been reportedly used instead of homegrown materials) in Taiwan, the founder and CEO of Gogoro, Horace Luke, stepped down in mid-September.

Such investigation has created jitters on Gogoro’s efforts to serve its overseas markets. In Indonesia, meanwhile, the partnership between Gogoro and Gojek has also gone down the drain.

The Zobels can tolerate calculable financial hemorrhage—after all, that’s part of this game of hunting for unicorns. But will they shrug off reputational risk? Some observers believe the recent head office issues could be the last straw. —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

Kudos to Megaworld employee No.2

Alliance Global Group Inc chair Kevin Tan is beaming with pride after Megaworld Corp. president Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso was named one of the “Most Powerful Women in Asia” this year by Fortune Magazine.

“So proud of our president,” Tan said in an Instagram post about Megaworld’s employee No.2 after founder Andrew Tan.

“We continue to be blessed,” added Tan, who also considers her a mentor.

Gutierrez-Alfonso was one of seven Filipino women leaders who made it on the list of top women from various sectors and industries across Asia.

And as if that were not enough, she was also honored as a Circle of Excellence Awardee for the category “Women Leader of the Year” at the 15th Asia CEO Awards.

Not bad at all for Alfonso, who was appointed just last June as the new president of Megaworld.

Before her appointment, she was Megaworld’s chief operating officer. She also serves as director of the company and the chair of its board executive committee and management executive committee.

In 2022, Alfonso was hailed as one of the top awardees under the category “Female Executive of the Year in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand” at the 19th Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

A year later, she was recognized as one of the “Women in Power” by the Philippine Daily Inquirer for being an outstanding changemaker and an inspiration for other women leaders. —Tina Arceo-Dumlao