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spk09: Welcome to the Gogoro Inc. 2023 Q4 Earnings Call. This conference call is now being recorded and broadcasted live over the internet. Webcast replay will be available within an hour after the conference is finished. I'd like to turn the call over to the Gogoro team.
spk10: Welcome to Gogoro's 2023 Q4 Earnings Conference Call, hosted by our CEO Horace Luke and CFO Bruce Aitken. Hopefully by now you've seen our earnings release. If you haven't, it is available on the Investor Relations tab of our website, investors.gogoro.com. We are hosting our earnings conference call via live webcast through Gogoro's website, where you can also download all of the earnings release materials. We will also be displaying the materials on the webcast screen as we go. If you're joining us through the conference call, your dialing lines are in listen-only mode. After Horace provides some of the business highlights from Q4 and our outlook for 2024, Bruce will go a bit deeper into the Q4 and full-year 2023 financial results. And then we will open the line for Q&A and answer as many questions as time allows. As usual, we would like to remind everyone that today's discussions may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risk and uncertainty, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. please refer to the forward-looking statements that appear in our press release and investor presentation provided today. And now, I would like to turn the call over to Horace.
spk13: Thanks for joining our call today. We're pleased to have this opportunity to meet with you and provide a summary of our fourth quarter 2023 results, a recap on our 2023 full year, and share our outlook for 2024. We've already had a few key announcements and product launches in January, as well as in Q4 of 2023. We launched the Gogoro Pulse, our new flagship vehicle, just last week. And it is awesome. And I'm very proud of the work our team has done. We continue to innovate, and we define what is possible when it comes to electric mobility. The Gogoro Pulse demonstrates a big leap in our industry leadership, in both vehicle design, smart technologies, user interaction, and vehicle performance, and we'll extend our lead in the electric two-wheeler industry. We continue to extend our partnership with Apple, and with the latest Pulse vehicle, we'll partner with Qualcomm to deliver the latest chipset to power a state-of-the-art dashboard. Last week, we also announced a partnership with Copac Energy in Latin America, where we will be launching in Chile and Colombia in Q2. In Q4, we launched our Guguro crossover vehicle both in Taiwan and in India and commercially launched our battery swapping service in the Philippines. We also announced an agreement with Uber Eats in Taiwan to speed the transition of their delivery fleet riders to electric two-wheelers. I'm excited to confirm that we're also progressing smoothly with the facility fill-out of our first battery-packed factory in India and have begun moving our state-of-the-art robotics equipment into the factory. We'll provide more detail on each of these throughout this call. 2023 was a year of relative economic and market challenges. Interest rates were increased by central governments. Monetary policy was tight. Economies around the world struggle to meet GDP growth projections and overall consumption slowed. We're anticipating that 2024 will see a reduction in interest rates and that many elections around the world will result in more stable and predictability of government policies on critical questions like energy consumption and the transition to clean green energy. In the Taiwan market in Q4, According to the Ministry of Transportation, the total number of registered scooter was 263,917, up 32% from Q4 of 2022. The total number of registered electric scooter in Q4 in Taiwan was 22,092 units, down from 25,505 in Q4 of last year. Of these electric scooters, Approximately 18,721, or 85%, were Gogoro-powered vehicle, and 16,680, 76%, were Gogoro-branded vehicles. Total registered scooters for the full year of 2023 was 870,608 units, up 19% from 2022. Total electric scooters for the full year 2023 was 79,766, down 9% from 2022. Both electric-powered two-wheelers and powered-by-Go-Go network markets were impacted by the continued deep discount and price war between the Taiwanese ICE vehicle manufacturers, as well as the increased purchase of ICE vehicles as a last-call effort from December 2023 discontinuation of certain government subsidies for scooter purchases. As you may recall, for the past few years, consumers in Taiwan who retired an older gas vehicle would get a subsidy from the government when buying a new one. The good news is that EV subsidies from Taiwan Central and local government will continue for 2024. While the overall consumer adoption of EV is not occurring as quickly as we would like in Taiwan, we are making continued inroads in with the consumer market, and with a number of important government and fleet customers. And we do see government policies changing. An example of this openness to EV adoption is the Taipei Police Department, which has been actively transforming their fleet of patrol scooters to electric vehicles. By the end of 2023, 100% of the electric vehicles in the Taipei Police Department fleet were go-go vehicles, which are actively using our battery swapping network to ensure constant availability. Additionally, B2B and B2G fleet customers like Taiwan Power, DHL, Domino Pizza, and a variety of local governments are also deploying more and more two- and three-wheeler EVs in Taiwan, which are Go-Go or partner-branded and use Go-Go battery swapping network. We welcome the opportunity to work with B2G and B2B partners to achieve their sustainability and electrification goals. In December, we partnered with Uber Eats Taiwan for a two-year green delivery program. This program aims to facilitate a smooth and cost-effective transformation to electric scooter for Uber Eats delivery partners. Riders in the program receive discounts on new Gogoro smart scooters, access to Gogoro battery swapping, and incentives for deliveries made on Gogoro Smart Scooters. Through this collaboration, Uber Eats has indicated an expectation that EV deliveries on their platform in Taiwan will increase from 20% to 40% of all trips by the end of 2025. Gogoro is pleased to partner with Uber Eats to tailor vehicle purchases and battery swapping for delivery partners in Taiwan. encouraging more riders to deliver on a greener solution. The program is expected to accelerate the EV transition, leading to improvement in air quality in cities across Taiwan, and it will contribute both to the Taiwan 2050 net zero emissions goals and to Uber Eats' global goal of achieving mission-free deliveries by 2040. This first collaboration can also serve as a template for other opportunities around the region. In the fourth quarter, we achieved significant milestones in India and the Philippines also. In India, in order to qualify for the available FAME II subsidies, both vehicle and battery packs must be made in India. In Q4, we made significant progress in both vehicle manufacturing as well as starting to deploy GO stations in Delhi NCR area. In December 23, we introduced our first India-made smart scooter, the Crossover GX250, manufactured in Mahastra. This is Gogoro's first India-made smart scooter. and incorporates a customized feature based on feedback from our pilot riders in India earlier in 2023. Features such as larger wheels, higher clearance, and more rugged chassis and better suspension. All of these enhancements made the vehicle more rugged, safer, and more comfortable even under very demanding road conditions. There are a number of crossover variants which are expected to be available throughout the year. Financing is an important part of purchase decision for many customers in India, whether fleet owners or individual owners of vehicles who ride for fleets. Gogoro is the first foreign two-wheel OEM to be impaneled by the Small Industry Development Bank of India, SIDBI. And we thank SIDBI, SIDBI, for their support and partnership to get our vehicle registered for this low-cost financing program, which is intended to accelerate EV adoption. The partnership with the Mahastra government that we announced last year continues to be crucially important to our expansion in India. In addition to our vehicle manufacturing, we are already well underway in building our first automated RoboFab battery pack manufacturing facility in Mahastra, and we expect to be fully operational in the factory by the middle of the year. As always, we are grateful for the support of the Mahasara State Government. India's central and state governments are playing a crucial role in the transition of energy policy to minimize the health impacts of pollution and spur the adoption of electric vehicles. Policies range from outright subsidies on purchase of an EV with FAME II to a variety of benefits from EV adoption, including tax incentive, local purchase subsidies, access to lower cost financing, toll fees, waivers, parking incentives, and benefits in the permitting process. In addition to the incentives, many cities are beginning to enforce a no ICE for logistics policy, making our strategy of serving B2B customers through battery swapping even more relevant, and all of these incentives will continue to play an important role in this electric transition. GoGo's mission is to drive a mass market shift to sustainable energy in cities through our smart battery swapping ecosystem. We've seen high demand in India for GoGo's battery swapping technology, and we're excited about our commercial launch in collaboration with various partners. The biggest impact will come from the transition to smart, sustainable electric transportation for last mile delivery riders, who cover significantly more distance than normal customers. As policies encourage or mandate this migration, Gogoro has ready-made solutions, including a superior vehicle experience and a super efficient battery swapping ecosystem ready to lead the transition in India's major cities. As Indian businesses increasingly prioritize sustainable transportation, they seek tailored mobility solutions for logistics, delivery fleets, and taxi services that not only offer a greener alternative to gas-powered vehicles, but also cater to India's specific market and industry requirements. GoGo provides rapid and reliable swap-and-go battery swapping, ensuring constant availability and safety, unlike tethered electric charging, which demands dedicated parking and reduces rider flexibility and earnings, while also having a poor track record on safety. We look forward to collaborating with various partners aiming to facilitate sustainable delivery operations and to create new sustainable business prospects. including utilizing GoGro GoShare platform for fractional and shared mobility as a service deployments. The Philippines GoGro network battery swapping service will officially launch in Q4. We're pleased to be working with the Ayala Corporation, Globe, and Globe's 917 Ventures to offer both retail and GoGro network battery swapping service in Manila. We opened a Gogoro Experience Center in Makati City in central Manila in early November. This innovative hub provides an immersive experience allowing visitors to try out Gogoro Smart Scooters and learn about battery swapping. The Experience Center showcases a range of Gogoro Smart Scooters and visitors can schedule a test ride to explore the features and experience of battery swapping and the riding experience of Gogoro Smart Scooters. There are now five GO stations up and running in Manila, and we look forward to launching more services and more vehicles during 2024. 2023 was quite a year for Gogoro, and I want to take a moment to reflect on some of the highlights of the year. Gogoro's ecosystem, including nearly 590,000 riders in Taiwan and over 2 million registered riders of GoShare, covers 45 cities worldwide, and support over 55 electric scooter models. We introduced our first locally made India vehicle, opened our first go-go experience center outside of Taiwan in the Philippines, and deepened our industry cooperation in South Korea and Singapore. We have now deployed over 12,000 GO stations at more than 2,500 locations around Taiwan and an additional 500 locations in other markets. In addition to the crossover launch, we collaborated with Muji to release a popular line of vehicles, which sold over 10,000 units in just the last few months of 2023. We also introduced GoGrowth's ScooterKey and Apple Wallet app, and Apple's Find My feature integration with Apple for two-wheelers. And over 120,000, or 40% of our target customers, have already activated this service. We have deployed virtual power plant capability at over 1,000 locations in conjunction with NLX and have deployed approximately 1,000 smart parking meters in Taipei, as well as providing backup power service for traffic lights at almost 200 of Taipei's most critical intersections, as well as elsewhere in Taiwan. These smart city and Second Life opportunities were exciting areas of development in 2023 and will continue to grow in 2024. providing additional revenue streams both immediately and in the future as batteries migrate from serving mobility to energy storage in second life usage. We continue to be recognized for our efforts. In 2023, we were awarded the honor of being an MIT Technology Review's 15 top climate companies to watch globally. We were also recognized by Frost and Sullivan as 2023 Global Company of the Year for our leading battery swapping for electric two-wheel and our rideshare business, GoShare, was recognized as Asia Pacific Entrepreneurial Company of the Year for mobility sharing. At the beginning of 2024, I want to take this opportunity to thank our customers, suppliers, partners, shareholders, and our employees. Without the support and contribution of so many fellow travelers, our journey toward electrification would be impossible. We appreciate your support, and we're committed to continuing in this journey together in 2024 and beyond. With that high-level overview of our Q4 and 2023 results, I'd like to invite Bruce to provide an update of our 2024 plan, as well as our 2023 Q4 and full-year financials.
spk04: Thanks for the strategy updates for us. Allow me to expand on our financial outlook. 2024 is a year where we will focus on not only the Taiwan market, but also on a number of growth opportunities. We estimate the 2024 market for two-wheeler sales in Taiwan will range from approximately 750,000 units to 850,000 units. We're targeting growth from 2023 unit sales and market share and healthy growth in our GoGro network from accumulating subscriber base. To support this market growth, we've launched the Gogoro Pulse, our all-new flagship vehicle, which demonstrates what's possible in an electric two-wheeler. In the coming months, we have other product launches planned to continue to penetrate the more cost-conscious product segments while maintaining Gogoro's focus on unique design, usability, and performance. We've been working on these vehicles for some time and are excited to share them with our customers. In Taiwan, We're expanding our channel via the continued build-up of our Gogoro quick service stores. These allow for legacy scooter sales and repair shops to also sell and service Gogoro and partner branded electric vehicles, creating upskilling and cross-training opportunities for existing ICE scooter industry players. We have over 170 GQS stores in operation today and intend to keep growing the footprint all over Taiwan. Taiwan is expected to represent approximately 90% of our revenue in 2024. In international markets, we're focusing on India, the Philippines, and continued growth in Korea, where there are already 10 partner-run retail locations and over 180 GO stations in 18 cities. Last week, we announced our newest partnership with COPEC, the leading energy company in Latin America. to introduce our battery swapping technology and smart scooters in Chile and Colombia in Q2 2024. Together with COPAC, we are establishing the first network of battery swapping stations in Latin America. Building brand recognition and trust across a diverse global audience takes time. Developing a robust distribution network, navigating complex supply chains, and ensuring supply chain localization are essential components of international growth. It is crucial to recognize that each market has its unique challenges and opportunities, and successful expansion requires a long-term perspective with a willingness to invest in building lasting relationships and adapting to evolving market dynamics. We expect international markets to contribute approximately 10 percent of our 2024 revenue, and we will continue to invest in those markets for future growth. Now I'll turn to Q4 2023 as well as full-year 2023 financial results. For the fourth quarter, total revenue was $91.5 million, down 4.1% year over year, and down 2.8% year over year on a constant currency basis. Had foreign exchange rates remained constant with the average rate of the same quarter last year, revenue would have been up by an additional $1.3 million. Sales of hardware and other revenue for the quarter were $59 million, down 7.9% year over year, and down 7.1% year-over-year on a constant currency basis. Both electric-powered two-wheelers and powered by Gogoro network markets were impacted by the continued deep discounts on ICE vehicles offered by Taiwan scooter manufacturers, as well as the increased purchases of ICE vehicles as a last-call effect given the discontinuation of certain government subsidies for scooter purchases. While we lowered prices, Our average selling price reduced by 9.3% in the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to that in the same quarter of 2022. We refrain from matching the deep discounts provided by ICE OEMs, as we believe that it's not in the best interest of our long-term growth strategy. Compared to the same quarter last year, sales of total electric power two-wheel vehicles were down 13.4%, while Gobro-branded vehicle sales were down 6.5%. Battery swapping service revenue for the fourth quarter was $32.5 million, up 3.7% year-over-year and up 6.0% year-over-year on a constant currency basis. Total subscribers at the end of the fourth quarter exceeded 587,000, up 11.6% from 526,000 subscribers at the end of the same quarter last year. The year over year increase in battery swapping service revenue was primarily due to our larger subscriber base compared to the same quarter last year and the high retention rate of our subscribers. We continue to see the strength of our subscription-based business model to accumulate more customers to maximize our battery swapping network efficiency. For the full year, total revenue was $34.9 million. Down 8.6% year-over-year and down 4.6% year-over-year on a constant currency basis. Had the foreign exchange rates remained consistent with average rate in each of the comparable quarters of the last year, revenue would have been up by an additional $15.6 million. Sales of hardware and other revenues for the year were $218 million, down 16.5% year-over-year and down 12.8% year-over-year on a constant currency basis. Compared to the last year, sales of total electric power two-wheel vehicles were down 9.0%, while Gogoro-branded vehicles were down 12.3%. Local ICE vehicle price competition and overall macroeconomic uncertainty hindered the pace of electrification in the Taiwan market in 2023. Battery swapping service revenue for the year was $131.8 million, up 8.3% year over year, and up 13.3% year over year on a constant currency basis. For the fourth quarter, gross margin was 11.0%, down from 15.0% in the same quarter last year, while non-IFRS gross margin was 14.2%, down from 17.2% in the same quarter last year. The decrease in gross margin was driven by a reduction in vehicle prices in the fourth quarter, an ASP reduction resulting from a higher percentage of lower-priced vehicles sold, a higher production cost per vehicle due to lower sales volume, decreased revenues associated with retail discounts, and some minor impacts related to our discounting charges for customers adversely impacted by a voluntary and minor vehicle recall and battery upgrade. This unfavorable change was partially offset by the improved cost efficiencies of GoGrow's battery swapping service and improvements in other operational efficiencies. For the full year 2023, gross margin was 14.4%, down from 15.1% last year, whereas non-IFRS gross margin was 15.8%, down from 16.8% last year. For the fourth quarter, net loss was $27.5 million, representing an increase of $15 million from a net loss of $12.5 million in the same quarter last year. This increase in net loss was primarily due to an unfavorable change of $16.5 million in the fair value of financial liabilities associated with the outstanding earn-out shares, earn-in shares, and warrants compared to last year as a result of the decrease of GoGrow's stock price and the decrease of $4.2 million in gross profit, which are partially offset by the decrease of $7 million in operating expenses. For the full year 2023, net loss was $76.9 million, representing a decrease of $22 million from a net loss of $98.9 million last year. The decrease in net loss was primarily due to a $218.4 million decrease in operating expenses, which was offset by an unfavorable change of $189.8 million in the fair value of financial liabilities and a $7.3 million decrease in gross profit. For the fourth quarter, adjusted EBITDA was $8.2 million, representing a decrease of $1 million from $9.2 million in the same quarter last year. The decrease was primarily due to a $1.3 million loss on investment using the equity method compared to the same quarter last year. The decrease was partially offset by a decrease in operating expenses from various cost savings initiatives this quarter. For the full year of 2023, adjusted EBITDA was $44.8 million, representing an increase of $3.6 million from $41.2 million last year. The increase was primarily due to a $9.6 million decrease in operating expenses as a result of various cost savings initiatives. The increase was partially offset by a $5.8 million decrease in gross profits due to lower revenue. We generated $59.8 million of operating cash flow in 2023 compared to 2022 where we used $64.8 million of cash in operations. With a $173.9 million cash balance at the end of 2023 and the additional credit facilities that are available to us, we believe we have sufficient sources of funding to meet our near-term business growth objectives. Based on the current market outlook, our 2024 revenue guidance is in the range of $385 to $420 million. The low end of this range represents 10% growth from our 2023 revenue. This growth is expected to come from unit sales increases in Taiwan, an increasing base of subscribers to the Gogoro network, as well as the continued sale of vehicles and other hardware in international locations. We estimate that Gogoro will generate approximately 90% of 2024 full-year revenue from the Taiwan market and 10% from international markets. With that financial update, I'll hand it back over for Q&A.
spk10: Thank you, Horace and Bruce, for the detailed updates. So as attendees are formulating their questions, I will ask two questions that we have collected from analysts. Question number one, there have been recently some setbacks on EV adoption for four-wheel markets. What are management's thoughts on two-wheel electrification adoption? And what is your plan to combat the recent intensified competition from ice makers if you don't plan to participate in a pricing war?
spk13: I'll take that. And I think it is inevitable. that traditional ICE vehicle will transition to EV. It's just a question of time. And I think that it doesn't matter if it's four-wheel or two-wheel, that transition will happen. And it will happen even faster with two-wheelers because the cost economic makes even better sense. But educating consumers that have had a long history of using ICE vehicles on the benefits of using electric is important and it's an ongoing journey for us. Achieving relative price parity on both vehicle costs as well as total cost of ownership over time is really important, and we believe that electric adoption will happen. While we don't believe in engaging in short-term price competition, it's beneficial to our long-term strategy. We do believe developing new technology and services that can help consumers get excited about electric is a really great inflection point we can put in. The most recently announced Pulse, the Gogoro Pulse, is a great example of how and what electric can do that ICE cannot. With all the new technology and all the new interaction and all the new connectivity that vehicle and the performance that vehicle can provide, I think it will really excite the market. And if you haven't checked it out yet, please go to our website and check it out. It is generating a lot of buzz both in the marketplace and with the media here in Taiwan, and pre-orders are already rolling in for that product sight unseen. We're grateful for our customer that have already been subscribers for Go Grow Network, and we encourage anyone that hasn't tried an electric two-wheeler to do so. The riding experience and the usability is just day and night. I think you'll find that experience a very positive one. Each person can make a contribution to the reduction in carbon emission by choosing an electric vehicle.
spk12: And in Taiwan, with the market share and the penetration we have done, the difference is clearly visible on the street today.
spk11: Thanks, Horace.
spk10: So the second question is, can you provide some color on estimated market size, vehicle volume, and margin outlook for this year?
spk04: Thanks, Annie. As we mentioned during the presentation, industry estimates for 2024 for the Taiwan market are approximately 750,000 to 850,000 unit sales. While other markets like India, for example, are many, many, many times larger, India's annual sales are approximately 15 to 20 million units. In Taiwan, we're targeting growth on last year's volume. We're targeting growth on market share. and broad penetration across all segments with the introduction of new vehicles and new services. In India, we're really just getting started, but we are expecting during 2024 to make solid inroads in the B2B market segments. As far as margin goes, we will continue to maintain tight control on spending. Our goal is to maintain a relatively flat or slightly improved gross profit margin compared to 2023. While we focus on growing revenue, in both Taiwan and in international markets.
spk10: Thank you, Bruce. At this time, operator, please open the line for a Q&A session.
spk09: Thank you. To ask a question, you will need to press star 1 and 1 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star 1 and 1 again. If you wish to ask a question via the webcast, please type it into the box and click submit.
spk10: So while we're waiting for participants to ask a question, I have an online question. In India, Fame 2 subsidies favors wire charging over battery swaps. Can Gogoro offer two versions of your scooters, one that can swap batteries and the other version where customers own the batteries with tethered charging? That way Gogoro can qualify for Fame 2.
spk13: Okay, great question. The qualification for FAME II in India requires a number of parts to be executed. The first one being the vehicle having to be made in India with a supply chain that is in India. There's a long list of parts and we've worked really diligently over the last year to enable a supply chain that's unique to India within India to build the vehicle. And today, we're ready in Mahastra, in the state of Mahastra, to manufacture the first vehicle, the Gogoro Crossover GX250. And while the vehicle is ready, the next piece that needs to come into place is, you're absolutely right, a charger is required. A tether charger is required because the market is unfamiliar with battery swapping. And so in order to qualify for Fame 2, our vehicle, as you have stated, will have a charging capability. However, with the usability of swapping, as it is indicated, if you go to the website of GoGrill, you'll also see that we offer an option of charging also for our vehicle within Taiwan. But I can assure you that usability and the ease and convenience of battery swapping overwhelms the legacy charging, the cumbersomeness and also the time it takes to actually charge a battery. that everybody chooses to swap. And in Taiwan's case, 100% of our vehicles sold is actually with swapping and the user opt not to charge at all, even though the vehicle might be able to do that. And the last piece of the equation is really around the battery that needs to be made locally. And today, just like earlier with Bruce and I highlighting to everyone, The battery factory in Pune, Mahastra, has been fitted out and the equipment are moving in and turning on as we speak. We see that coming in sometime in Q2. And with that ready, all three pieces of components will be ready for us to qualify for FAME 2. So I hope that answers the question. It is essential that we take advantage of all the policies that are in favor of electrification. And we're working diligently, our team's working diligently to make sure that we check all the boxes and make it as flexible and as much as easy it is for consumers to adopt electric.
spk05: We'll now move to our phone questions. Please stand by.
spk09: Our next question comes from the line of Long Lin from the Benchmark Company. Please go ahead. Your line is open.
spk07: Good morning. Hello.
spk00: We can hear you.
spk01: Hi. Yes. Hi. Good morning. Thanks for taking my question. This is Long on behalf of Fangjiang. So I have a follow-up question on Indian markets. Just want to ask, can management talk about more about your expectations on the ramp up of the Indian markets and specifically the potential impact of the Indian market on the company's performance in 2024? Sure, we can do that.
spk04: So a couple of things that I'll highlight. And Horace can add on as well. The first is, as we mentioned, we expect approximately 10% of our revenue in 2024 to come from international markets. So clearly, India is one of our focus areas. We're not giving a specific revenue target for India, but we do anticipate starting to see penetration. The market that we're targeting in India to begin with is the B2B marketplace. We've talked about this a number of times before. Penetrating the B2B space, the value proposition is extremely clear. The riders are clear that they want battery swapping. Fleet operators are clear they want battery swapping because it means no downtime. And so with these vehicles being on the road literally 12 or 10 or 14 hours a day, there's no way you can keep a vehicle on the road that long without it being a battery swapping vehicle. If you have to stop and charge, even if it's for an hour, that makes a dramatic impact on the number of deliveries or the number of trips that a rider can make, and that directly impacts their bottom line, their take-home pay. So we view the B2B market as a base load. We can, through the B2B sales, establish a broad network of GO stations, whether it's in a city like Delhi or as we expand into other places like Bangalore or like Goa. We're also targeting kind of tourist-oriented free float scooter services with a partner in the city of Goa and likely other cities to follow. So there's a number of different things that we're trying out from a B2B penetration standpoint. We do expect to see meaningful unit sales. We expect, again, 10% of revenue to be international. As Horace mentioned, the critical components are that that vehicle is ready to go. It is that the charger is ready to go, that the battery pack is ready to go. And we'll have all those pieces in place in the very near future and be able to start, you know, with the ramp in India.
spk08: Okay. Thank you for your answer. Thanks. You're welcome.
spk10: I have another question coming from online. Sales of electric generators have increased over the years due to global conflicts and extreme weather conditions. Why doesn't Gogoro expand your product line into the battery energy storage market where customers can buy and use their own Gogoro batteries to provide backup energy for their homes or businesses? Customers that own these Gogoro batteries can also become potential scooter purchasers in the future.
spk13: That's a great question. We see our batteries as just storage devices for energy. First, usability of that, of course, as everybody knows, what we do is mobility. But we have also used those battery packs for other storage functionalities, such as backing up major intersections. That's serving as a generator. As well as backing up, we actually recently worked and turned on a SREC or you know small regenerative energy generator service with the Taiwan power where we are turning on 1000 of our location to do both spinning reserve as well as bi-directional what we call frequency response with the network again acting as a generator we do have about approximately 1.3 million batteries on the network And when those batteries are in the stations, they're part time serving as, you know, standby ready for somebody swap. But at the same time, serving as a massive generator for the cities that they serve today. As we look forward and what the batteries can do, obviously, there's many other functionality we can we can do with the batteries. But our number one focus as a company today is to really solidify our market position in Taiwan, as we have done so greatly today, with majority of the vehicles that are electric in the marketplace being electric powered by our battery swapping system. And as Bruce just said, the near-term focus is really to take what we have learned and what we've developed in Taiwan and expand into the mobility space into markets that we have already announced. Markets such as India, markets such as Chile and Colombia, markets such as Korea, and others that we are actively participating within. Batteries are simply energy storage devices. They are, like you said, generators. They can instantly take energy and instantly give energy. We will focus on that thesis with mobility as the first function and the storage and smart grid usability as the kind of auxiliary services that they can provide. In the future, we don't know what's in the future for what batteries can do, but certainly what you mentioned as a storage device or generator can certainly be something that we can look into for sure.
spk10: Thank you, Horace. We have another few questions coming from online. I'm combining them all together because it's similar. They want to know the current status for policies in India on EV battery swapping or charging.
spk13: Okay, I can take that. Battery swapping, as I said, you know, earlier in the answer Q&A, you know, the battery swapping is still very new to the entire industry. While everybody recognizes and understands the electric vehicle as a plug-in charging, There still needs to be a lot of work to be done to educate everybody on what battery swapping is and what battery swapping and how it's different than battery charging. So we're making inroads. We're meeting lots of politicians, a lot of policymakers, educating them. And we have formed, along with other partners, an association called the India Battery Swapping Association. And the association has partners like Hero, like Sun Mobility, like actually other partners like Honda and others that have actually joined what we call IPSA, which is India Battery Swapping Association. And with this association, a lot of seminars and a lot of meetings are happening as we speak to educate about battery swapping and how policies need to be adjusted to serve battery swapping. So that, you know, we look forward to to a country that can be electrified through battery swapping because that's the only way we can, as Bruce said, zero downtime is the only way we can actually see electric being adopted in markets where very soon ICE vehicle for logistics will be banned. Cities like Delhi will be banning ICE vehicle from doing logistics. Doesn't matter that logistics is carrying goods, your lunch, or people. And so that's a great opportunity for us. And battery swapping is the only solution to serve that B2B market.
spk10: Thank you, Harith. We have another question from online. Can we get an update on Gogoro's solid-state battery?
spk13: Sure. We continue to work with our partner on developing the battery solution. Gogoro's key differentiating factor is the technology behind managing the battery swapping network. Today on the network, there are multiple generations of technology with different chemistries that are in the battery today, serving from 1.3 kilowatt hour to approximately 1.7 kilowatt hour. And those variety of batteries can be put into the network to serve our customer at any time. One of the value proposition that we give to our customer that people see as a great part of not buying a battery, but swapping a battery, is that they don't have to worry about the upgrade of technology. And that when a new technology is rolled out, they simply can subscribe and actually get access to it. And with the solid state battery, as we stated earlier with the announcement, it is years away still. And we're working diligently to make sure that we're one of the first people to be able to roll that out to our customer. But it will take time. Solid state batteries are still in this early phase. But it offers a lot of benefits such as safety, durability, long range and capacity. All those things are things that we can actually use to benefit our customers. But in the meantime, our network is ready to plug in any other technology that needs to be plugged in.
spk12: And we're very flexible about that and serving our customers with different technologies. Thank you, Horace.
spk10: Operator, can you check again online whether we have anything from the audio?
spk05: There are no further questions from the audio at this time.
spk12: Great. Thank you everyone for joining our call today.
spk13: You know, 2023 was a challenging year for the overall market standpoint. We focus on delivering solid financial results regardless. In 2024, we're committed to continue development and deployment of the best technology, best vehicle, best battery swapping platform and ecosystem to ongoing innovation and performance leadership in electric two-wheeler industry. We aim to deliver exceptional performance, efficiency and reliability, both in Taiwan and the international markets that we're going into. We're still in the early stage of electrification overall. Our goal Our goal remains to continue to support the inevitable transition from ICE-powered two-wheelers to electric two-wheelers. As always, we appreciate everyone's support as a community. It doesn't matter if it's our employees, our suppliers, and most important of all, our investors on this journey. Thanks for calling in today's webcast and talk to you guys real soon. Thank you.
spk09: The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's call you may now disconnect. you Thank you. Thank you.
spk06: Thank you. you
spk09: Welcome to the Gogoro Inc. 2023 Q4 Earnings Call. This conference call is now being recorded and broadcasted live over the internet. Webcast replay will be available within an hour after the conference is finished. I'd like to turn the call over to the Gogoro team.
spk10: Welcome to Gogoro's 2023 Q4 Earnings Conference Call, hosted by our CEO Horace Luke and CFO Bruce Aitken. Hopefully by now you've seen our earnings release. If you haven't, it is available on the Investor Relations tab of our website, investor.gogoro.com. We are hosting our earnings conference call via live webcast through Gogoro's website, where you can also download all of the earnings release materials. We will also be displaying the materials on the webcast screen as they go. If you are joining us through the conference call, your dialing lines are in listen-only mode. After Horace provides some of the business highlights from Q4 and our outlook for 2024, Bruce will go a bit deeper into the Q4 and full-year 2023 financial results. And then we will open the line for Q&A and answer as many questions as time allows. As usual, we would like to remind everyone that today's discussions may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those containing the forward-looking statements. please refer to the forward-looking statements that appear in our press release and investor presentation provided today. And now, I would like to turn the call over to Horace.
spk13: Thanks for joining our call today. We're pleased to have this opportunity to meet with you and provide a summary of our fourth quarter 2023 results, a recap on our 2023 full year, and share our outlook for 2024. We've already had a few key announcements and product launches in January, as well as in Q4 of 2023. We launched the Gogoro Pulse, our new flagship vehicle, just last week. And it is awesome. And I'm very proud of the work our team has done. We continue to innovate and redefine what is possible when it comes to electric mobility. The Gogoro Pulse demonstrates a big leap in our industry leadership, in both vehicle design, smart technologies, user interaction, and vehicle performance, and will extend our lead in the electric two-wheeler industry. We continue to extend our partnership with Apple, and with the latest Pulse vehicle, we'll partner with Qualcomm to deliver the latest chipset to power a state-of-the-art dashboard. Last week, we also announced a partnership with Copac Energy in Latin America, where we will be launching in Chile and Colombia in Q2. In Q4, we launched our Guguro crossover vehicle both in Taiwan and in India and commercially launched our battery swapping service in the Philippines. We also announced an agreement with Uber Eats in Taiwan to speed the transition of their delivery fleet riders to electric two-wheelers. I'm excited to confirm that we're also progressing smoothly with the facility fill-out of our first battery-packed factory in India and have begun moving our state-of-the-art robotics equipment into the factory. We'll provide more detail on each of these throughout this call. 2023 was a year of relative economic and market challenges. Interest rates were increased by central governments. Monetary policy was tight. Economies around the world struggle to meet GDP growth projections and overall consumption slowed. We're anticipating that 2024 will see a reduction in interest rates and that many elections around the world will result in more stable and predictability of government policies on critical questions like energy consumption and the transition to clean green energy. In the Taiwan market in Q4, According to the Ministry of Transportation, the total number of registered scooter was 263,917, up 32% from Q4 of 2022. The total number of registered electric scooter in Q4 in Taiwan was 22,092 units, down from 25,505 in Q4 of last year. Of these electric scooters, Approximately 18,721, or 85%, were Go-Gro powered vehicle, and 16,680, 76%, were Go-Gro branded vehicles. Total registered scooters for the full year of 2023 was 870,608 units, up 19% from 2022. Total electric scooters for the full year 2023 was 79,766, down 9% from 2022. Both electric-powered two-wheelers and powered by Go-Gro network markets were impacted by the continued deep discount and price war between the Taiwanese ICE vehicle manufacturers, as well as the increased purchase of ICE vehicles as a last-call effort from December 2023 discontinuation of certain government subsidies for scooter purchases. As you may recall, for the past few years, consumers in Taiwan who retired an older gas vehicle would get a subsidy from the government when buying a new one. The good news is that EV subsidies from Taiwan Central and local government will continue for 2024. While the overall consumer adoption of EV is not occurring as quickly as we would like in Taiwan, we are making continued inroads in with the consumer market and with a number of important government and fleet customers. And we do see government policies changing. An example of this openness to EV adoption is the Taipei Police Department, which has been actively transforming their fleet of patrol scooters to electric vehicles. By the end of 2023, 100% of the electric vehicles in the Taipei Police Department fleet were go-go vehicles, which are actively using our battery swapping network to ensure constant availability. Additionally, B2B and B2G fleet customers like Taiwan Power, DHL, Domino Pizza, and a variety of local governments are also deploying more and more two- and three-wheeler EVs in Taiwan, which are Go-Go or partner-branded and use Go-Go battery swapping network. We welcome the opportunity to work with B2G and B2B partners to achieve their sustainability and electrification goals. In December, we partnered with Uber Eats Taiwan for a two-year green delivery program. This program aims to facilitate a smooth and cost-effective transformation to electric scooter for Uber Eats delivery partners. Riders in the program receive discounts on new Gogoro smart scooters, access to Gogoro battery swapping, and incentives for deliveries made on Gogoro Smart Scooters. Through this collaboration, Uber Eats has indicated an expectation that EV deliveries on their platform in Taiwan will increase from 20% to 40% of all trips by the end of 2025. Gogoro is pleased to partner with Uber Eats to tailor vehicle purchases and battery swapping for delivery partners in Taiwan. encouraging more riders to deliver on a greener solution. The program is expected to accelerate the EV transition, leading to improvement in air quality in cities across Taiwan, and it will contribute both to the Taiwan 2050 net zero emissions goals and to Uber Eats' global goal of achieving mission-free deliveries by 2040. This first collaboration can also serve as a template for other opportunities around the region. In the fourth quarter, we achieved significant milestones in India and the Philippines also. In India, in order to qualify for the available FAME II subsidies, both vehicle and battery packs must be made in India. In Q4, We made significant progress in both vehicle manufacturing as well as starting to deploy GO stations in Delhi NCR area. In December 23rd, 23, we introduced our first India-made smart scooter, the Crossover GX250, manufactured in Mahastra. This is Gogoro's first India-made smart scooter. and incorporates a customized feature based on feedback from our pilot riders in India earlier in 2023. Features such as larger wheels, higher clearance, and more rugged chassis, and better suspension. All of these enhancements made the vehicle more rugged, safer, and more comfortable even under very demanding road conditions. There are a number of crossover variants which are expected to be available throughout the year. Financing is an important part of purchase decision for many customers in India, whether fleet owners or individual owners of vehicles who ride for fleets. Goguru is the first foreign two-wheel OEM to be impaneled by the Small Industry Development Bank of India, SIDBI. And we thank SIDBI, SIDBI, for their support and partnership to get our vehicle registered for this low-cost financing program, which is intended to accelerate EV adoption. The partnership with the Mahastra government that we announced last year continues to be crucially important to our expansion in India. In addition to our vehicle manufacturing, we are already well underway in building our first automated RoboFab battery pack manufacturing facility in Mahastra. and we expect to be fully operational in the factory by the middle of the year. As always, we are grateful for the support of the Mahasara State Government. India's central and state governments are playing a crucial role in the transition of energy policy to minimize the health impacts of pollution and spur the adoption of electric vehicles. Policies range from outright subsidies on purchase of an EV with FAME II to a variety of benefits from EV adoption, including tax incentive, local purchase subsidies, access to lower cost financing, toll fees, waivers, parking incentives, and benefits in the permitting process. In addition to the incentives, many cities are beginning to enforce a no ICE for logistics policy, making our strategy of serving B2B customers through battery swapping even more relevant, and all of these incentives will continue to play an important role in this electric transition. Gogoro's mission is to drive a mass market shift to sustainable energy in cities through our smart battery swapping ecosystem. We've seen high demand in India for Gogoro's battery swapping technology, and we're excited about our commercial launch in collaboration with various partners. The biggest impact will come from the transition to smart, sustainable electric transportation for last mile delivery riders, who cover significantly more distance than normal customers. As policies encourage or mandate this migration, Gogoro has ready-made solutions, including a superior vehicle experience and a super-efficient battery swapping ecosystem ready to lead the transition in India's major cities. As Indian businesses increasingly prioritize sustainable transportation, they seek tailored mobility solutions for logistics, delivery fleets, and taxi services that not only offer a greener alternative to gas-powered vehicles, but also cater to India's specific market and industry requirements. GoGo provides rapid and reliable swap-and-go battery swapping, ensuring constant availability and safety, unlike tethered electric charging, which demands dedicated parking and reduces rider flexibility and earnings, while also having a poor track record on safety. We look forward to collaborating with various partners aiming to facilitate sustainable delivery operations and to create new sustainable business prospects. including utilizing GoGro GoShare platform for fractional and shared mobility as a service deployments. The Philippines GoGro network battery swapping service will officially launch in Q4. We're pleased to be working with the Ayala Corporation, Globe, and Globe's 917 Ventures to offer both retail and GoGro network battery swapping service in Manila. We opened a Go-Go Experience Center in Makati City in central Manila in early November. This innovative hub provides an immersive experience allowing visitors to try out Go-Go Smart Scooters and learn about battery swapping. The Experience Center showcases a range of Go-Go Smart Scooters and visitors can schedule a test ride to explore the features and experience of battery swapping and the riding experience of Go-Go Smart Scooters. There are now five GO stations up and running in Manila, and we look forward to launching more services and more vehicles during 2024. 2023 was quite a year for Gogoro, and I want to take a moment to reflect on some of the highlights of the year. Gogoro's ecosystem, including nearly 590,000 riders in Taiwan and over 2 million registered riders of GoShare, covers 45 cities worldwide, and support over 55 electric scooter models. We introduced our first locally made India vehicle, opened our first go-go experience center outside of Taiwan in the Philippines, and deepened our industry cooperation in South Korea and Singapore. We have now deployed over 12,000 GO stations at more than 2,500 locations around Taiwan and an additional 500 locations in other markets. In addition to the crossover launch, we collaborated with Muji to release a popular line of vehicles which sold over 10,000 units in just the last few months of 2023. We also introduced GoGrowth's ScooterKey and Apple Wallet app, and Apple's Find My feature integration with Apple for two-wheelers. And over 120,000, or 40% of our target customers, have already activated this service. We have deployed virtual power plant capability at over 1,000 locations in conjunction with NLX and have deployed approximately 1,000 smart parking meters in Taipei, as well as providing backup power service for traffic lights at almost 200 of Taipei's most critical intersections, as well as elsewhere in Taiwan. These smart city and second-life opportunities were exciting areas of development in 2023 and will continue to grow in 2024. providing additional revenue streams both immediately and in the future as batteries migrate from serving mobility to energy storage in second life usage. We continue to be recognized for our efforts. In 2023, we were awarded the honor of being an MIT Technology Review's 15 top climate companies to watch globally. We were also recognized by Frost and Sullivan as 2023 Global Company of the Year for our leading battery swapping for electric two-wheel and our rideshare business, GoShare, was recognized as Asia Pacific Entrepreneurial Company of the Year for mobility sharing. At the beginning of 2024, I want to take this opportunity to thank our customers, suppliers, partners, shareholders, and our employees. Without the support and contribution of so many fellow travelers, our journey toward electrification would be impossible. We appreciate your support, and we're committed to continuing in this journey together in 2024 and beyond. With that high-level overview of our Q4 and 2023 results, I'd like to invite Bruce to provide an update of our 2024 plan, as well as our 2023 Q4 and full-year financials.
spk04: Thanks for the strategy updates for us. Allow me to expand on our financial outlook. 2024 is a year where we will focus on not only the Taiwan market, but also on a number of growth opportunities. We estimate the 2024 market for two-wheeler sales in Taiwan will range from approximately 750,000 units to 850,000 units. We're targeting growth from 2023 unit sales and market share and healthy growth in our GoGrow network from accumulating subscriber base. To support this market growth, we've launched the Gogoro Pulse, our all-new flagship vehicle, which demonstrates what's possible in an electric two-wheeler. In the coming months, we have other product launches planned to continue to penetrate the more cost-conscious product segments while maintaining Gogoro's focus on unique design, usability, and performance. We've been working on these vehicles for some time and are excited to share them with our customers. In Taiwan, We're expanding our channel via the continued build-up of our Gogoro quick service stores. These allow for legacy scooter sales and repair shops to also sell and service Gogoro and partner branded electric vehicles, creating upskilling and cross-training opportunities for existing ICE scooter industry players. We have over 170 GQS stores in operation today and intend to keep growing the footprint all over Taiwan. Taiwan is expected to represent approximately 90% of our revenue in 2024. In international markets, we're focusing on India, the Philippines, and continued growth in Korea, where there are already 10 partner-run retail locations and over 180 GO stations in 18 cities. Last week, we announced our newest partnership with COPEC, the leading energy company in Latin America. to introduce our battery swapping technology and smart scooters in Chile and Colombia in Q2 2024. Together with COPAC, we are establishing the first network of battery swapping stations in Latin America. Building brand recognition and trust across a diverse global audience takes time. Developing a robust distribution network, navigating complex supply chains, and ensuring supply chain localization are essential components of international growth. It is crucial to recognize that each market has its unique challenges and opportunities and successful expansion requires a long term perspective with a willingness to invest in building lasting relationships and adapting to evolving market dynamics. We expect international markets to contribute approximately 10% of our 2024 revenue and we will continue to invest in those markets for future growth. Now I'll turn to Q4 2023 as well as full year 2023 financial results. For the fourth quarter, total revenue was $91.5 million, down 4.1% year over year, and down 2.8% year over year on a constant currency basis. Had foreign exchange rates remained constant with the average rate of the same quarter last year, revenue would have been up by an additional $1.3 million. Sales of hardware and other revenue for the quarter were $59 million, down 7.9% year over year, and down 7.1% year-over-year on a constant currency basis. Both electric-powered two-wheelers and powered by Go-Gro network markets were impacted by the continued deep discounts on ICE vehicles offered by Taiwan scooter manufacturers, as well as the increased purchases of ICE vehicles as a last-call effect given the discontinuation of certain government subsidies for scooter purchases. While we lowered prices, Our average selling price reduced by 9.3% in the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to that in the same quarter of 2022. We refrain from matching the deep discounts provided by ICE OEMs, as we believe that it's not in the best interest of our long-term growth strategy. Compared to the same quarter last year, sales of total electric power two-wheel vehicles were down 13.4%, while Gobro-branded vehicle sales were down 6.5%. Battery swapping service revenue for the fourth quarter was $32.5 million, up 3.7% year-over-year and up 6.0% year-over-year on a constant currency basis. Total subscribers at the end of the fourth quarter exceeded 587,000, up 11.6% from 526,000 subscribers at the end of the same quarter last year. The year-over-year increase in battery swapping service revenue was primarily due to our larger subscriber base compared to the same quarter last year and the high retention rate of our subscribers. We continue to see the strength of our subscription-based business model to accumulate more customers to maximize our battery swapping network efficiency. For the full year, total revenue was $34.9 million. down 8.6% year-over-year and down 4.6% year-over-year on a constant currency basis. Had the foreign exchange rates remained consistent with average rate in each of the comparable quarters of the last year, revenue would have been up by an additional $15.6 million. Sales of hardware and other revenues for the year were $218 million, down 16.5% year-over-year and down 12.8% year-over-year on a constant currency basis. Compared to the last year, sales of total electric power two-wheel vehicles were down 9.0%, while Gogoro-branded vehicles were down 12.3%. Local ICE vehicle price competition and overall macroeconomic uncertainty hindered the pace of electrification in the Taiwan market in 2023. Battery swapping service revenue for the year was $131.8 million, up 8.3% year over year, and up 13.3% year-over-year on a constant currency basis. For the fourth quarter, gross margin was 11.0%, down from 15.0% in the same quarter last year, while non-IFRS gross margin was 14.2%, down from 17.2% in the same quarter last year. The decrease in gross margin was driven by a reduction in vehicle prices in the fourth quarter, an ASP reduction resulting from a higher percentage of lower-priced vehicles sold a higher production cost per vehicle due to lower sales volume, decreased revenues associated with retail discounts, and some minor impacts related to our discounting charges for customers adversely impacted by a voluntary and minor vehicle recall and battery upgrade. This unfavorable change was partially offset by the improved cost efficiencies of Go-Gro's battery swapping service and improvements in other operational efficiencies. For the full year 2023, gross margin was 14.4%, down from 15.1% last year, whereas non-IFRS gross margin was 15.8%, down from 16.8% last year. For the fourth quarter, net loss was $27.5 million, representing an increase of $15 million from a net loss of $12.5 million in the same quarter last year. This increase in net loss was primarily due to an unfavorable change of $16.5 million in the fair value of financial liabilities associated with the outstanding earn-out shares, earn-in shares, and warrants compared to last year as a result of the decrease of GoGrow's stock price and the decrease of $4.2 million in gross profit, which are partially offset by the decrease of $7 million in operating expenses. For the full year 2023, net loss was $76.9 million, representing a decrease of $22 million from a net loss of $98.9 million last year. The decrease in net loss was primarily due to a $218.4 million decrease in operating expenses, which was offset by an unfavorable change of $189.8 million in the fair value of financial liabilities and a $7.3 million decrease in gross profit. For the fourth quarter, adjusted EBITDA was $8.2 million, representing a decrease of $1 million from $9.2 million in the same quarter last year. The decrease was primarily due to a $1.3 million loss on investment using the equity method compared to the same quarter last year. The decrease was partially offset by a decrease in operating expenses from various cost savings initiatives this quarter. For the full year of 2023, adjusted EBITDA was $44.8 million, representing an increase of $3.6 million from $41.2 million last year. The increase was primarily due to a $9.6 million decrease in operating expenses as a result of various cost savings initiatives. The increase was partially offset by a $5.8 million decrease in gross profits due to lower revenue. We generated $59.8 million of operating cash flow in 2023 compared to 2022 where we used $64.8 million of cash in operations. With a $173.9 million cash balance at the end of 2023 and the additional credit facilities that are available to us, we believe we have sufficient sources of funding to meet our near-term business growth objectives. Based on the current market outlook, our 2024 revenue guidance is in the range of $385 to $420 million. The low end of this range represents 10% growth from our 2023 revenue. This growth is expected to come from unit sales increases in Taiwan, an increasing base of subscribers to the Gogoro network, as well as the continued sale of vehicles and other hardware in international locations. We estimate that Gogoro will generate approximately 90% of 2024 full-year revenue from the Taiwan market and 10% from international markets. With that financial update, I'll hand it back over for Q&A.
spk10: Thank you, Horace and Bruce, for the detailed updates. So as attendees are formulating their questions, I will ask two questions that we have collected from analysts. Question number one, there have been recently some setbacks on EV adoption for four-wheel markets. What are management's thoughts on two-wheel electrification adoption? And what is your plan to combat the recent intensified competition from ice makers if you don't plan to participate in a pricing war?
spk13: I'll take that. And I think it is inevitable. that traditional ICE vehicle will transition to EV. This is a question of time. And I think that it doesn't matter if it's four wheel or two wheel, that transition will happen. And it will happen even faster with two wheelers because the cost economic makes even better sense. But educating consumers that have had a long history of using ICE vehicles on the benefits of using electric is important and it's an ongoing journey for us. Achieving relative price parity on both vehicle costs as well as total cost of ownership over time is really important, and we believe that electric adoption will happen. While we don't believe in engaging in short-term price competition, it's beneficial to our long-term strategy. We do believe developing new technology and services that can help consumers get excited about electric is a really great inflection point we can put in. The most recently announced Pulse, the Gogoro Pulse, is a great example of how and what electric can do that ICE cannot. With all the new technology and all the new interaction and all the new connectivity that vehicle and the performance that vehicle can provide, I think it will really excite the market. And if you haven't checked it out yet, please go to our website and check it out. It is generating a lot of buzz, both in the marketplace and with the media here in Taiwan, and pre-orders are already rolling in for that product sight unseen. We're grateful for our customer that have already been subscribers for Go Grow Network, and we encourage anyone that hasn't tried an electric two-wheeler to do so. The riding experience and the usability is just day and night. I think you'll find that experience a very positive one. Each person can make a contribution to the reduction in carbon emission by choosing an electric vehicle.
spk12: And in Taiwan, with the market share and the penetration we have done, the difference is clearly visible on the street today.
spk11: Thanks, Horace.
spk10: So the second question is, can you provide some color on estimated market size, vehicle volume, and margin outlook for this year?
spk04: Thanks, Annie. As we mentioned during the presentation, industry estimates for 2024 for the Taiwan market are approximately 750,000 to 850,000 unit sales. While other markets like India, for example, are many, many, many times larger, India's annual sales are approximately 15 to 20 million units. In Taiwan, we're targeting growth on last year's volume. We're targeting growth on market share. and broad penetration across all segments with the introduction of new vehicles and new services. In India, we're really just getting started, but we are expecting during 2024 to make solid inroads in the B2B market segments. As far as margin goes, we will continue to maintain tight control on spending. Our goal is to maintain a relatively flat or slightly improved gross profit margin compared to 2023. While we focus on growing revenue, in both Taiwan and in international markets.
spk10: Thank you, Bruce. At this time, operator, please open the line for a Q&A session.
spk09: Thank you. To ask a question, you will need to press star 1 and 1 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star 1 and 1 again. If you wish to ask a question via the webcast, please type it into the box and click submit.
spk10: So while we're waiting for participants to ask a question, I have an online question. In India, Fame 2 subsidies favors wire charging over battery swaps. Can Gogoro offer two versions of your scooters, one that can swap batteries and the other version where customers own the batteries with tethered charging? That way Gogoro can qualify for Fame 2.
spk13: Okay, great question. The qualification for FAME II in India requires a number of parts to be executed. The first one being the vehicle having to be made in India with a supply chain that is in India. There's a long list of parts and we've worked really diligently over the last year to enable a supply chain that's unique to India within India to build the vehicle. And today, we're ready in Mahastra, in the state of Mahastra, to manufacture the first vehicle, the Gogoro Crossover GX250. And while the vehicle is ready, the next piece that needs to come into place is, you're absolutely right, a charger is required. A tether charger is required because the market is unfamiliar with battery swapping. And so in order to qualify for Fame 2, our vehicle, as you have stated, will have a charging capability. However, with the usability of swapping, as it is indicated, if you go to the website of GoGro, you'll also see that we offer an option of charging also for our vehicle within Taiwan. But I can assure you that usability and the ease and convenience of battery swapping overwhelms the legacy charging, the cumbersomeness and also the time it takes to actually charge a battery. that everybody chooses to swap. And in Taiwan's case, 100% of our vehicles sold is actually with swapping and the user opt not to charge at all, even though the vehicle might be able to do that. And the last piece of the equation is really around the battery that needs to be made locally. And today, just like earlier with Bruce and I highlighting to everyone, The battery factory in Pune, Mahastra, has been fitted out and the equipment are moving in and turning on as we speak. We see that coming in sometime in Q2. And with that ready, all three pieces of components will be ready for us to qualify for FAME 2. So I hope that answers the question. It is essential that we take advantage of all the policies that are in favor of electrification. And we're working diligently, our team's working diligently to make sure that we check all the boxes and make it as flexible and as much as easy it is for consumers to adopt electric.
spk09: We'll now move to our phone questions. Please stand by. Our next question comes from the line of Long Lin from the Benchmark Company. Please go ahead. Your line is open.
spk07: Good morning.
spk00: We can hear you.
spk01: Hi. Yes. Hi. Good morning. Thanks for taking my question. This is Long on behalf of Fangjiang. So I have a follow up question on Indian markets. Just want to ask, can management talk about more about your expectations on the ramp up of the Indian markets and specifically the potential impact of the Indian market on the company's performance in 2024?
spk04: Sure, we can do that. So a couple of things that I'll highlight and Horace can add on as well. The first is, you know, as we mentioned, we expect approximately 10% of our revenue in 2024 to come from international markets. So clearly India is one of our focus areas. We're not giving a specific revenue target for India, but we do anticipate starting to see penetration. The market that we're targeting in India to begin with is the B2B marketplace. We've talked about this a number of times before. Penetrating the B2B space, the value proposition is extremely clear. The riders are clear that they want battery swapping. Fleet operators are clear they want battery swapping because it means no downtime. And so with these vehicles being on the road literally 12 or 10 or 14 hours a day, there's no way you can keep a vehicle on the road that long without it being a battery swapping vehicle. If you have to stop and charge, even if it's for an hour, that makes a dramatic impact on the number of deliveries or the number of trips that a rider can make, and that directly impacts their bottom line, their take-home pay. So we view the B2B market as a base load. We can, through the B2B sales, establish a broad network of GO stations, whether it's in a city like Delhi or as we expand into other places like Bangalore or like Goa. We're also targeting You know, kind of tourist oriented free float scooter services with a partner in the city of Goa and likely other cities to follow. So there's a number of different things that we're trying out from a B2B penetration standpoint. We do expect to see meaningful unit sales. We expect, you know, again, 10% of revenue to be international. As Horace mentioned, the critical components are that that vehicle is ready to go. It is that the charger is ready to go, that the battery pack is ready to go. And we'll have all those pieces in place in the very near future and be able to start, you know, with the ramp in India.
spk08: Okay. Thank you for your answer. Thanks. You're welcome.
spk10: I have another question coming from online. Sales of electric generators have increased over the years due to global conflicts and extreme weather conditions. Why doesn't Gogoro expand your product line into the battery energy storage market where customers can buy and use their own Gogoro batteries to provide backup energy for their homes or businesses? Customers that own these Gogoro batteries can also become potential scooter purchasers in the future.
spk13: That's a great question. We see our batteries as just storage devices for energy. First, usability of that, of course, as everybody knows, what we do is mobility. But we have also used those battery packs for other storage functionalities, such as backing up major intersections. That's serving as a generator. As well as backing up, we actually recently worked and turned on a SREC or small regenerative energy generator service with the Taiwan Power, where we are turning on 1,000 of our location to do both spinning reserve as well as bidirectional, what we call frequency response with the network, again, acting as a generator. We do have about approximately 1.3 million batteries on the network, And when those batteries are in the stations, they're part time serving as, you know, standby ready for somebody swap. But at the same time, serving as a massive generator for the cities that they serve today. As we look forward and what the batteries can do, obviously, there's many other functionality we can we can do with the batteries. But our number one focus as a company today is to really solidify our market position in Taiwan as we have done so greatly today with majority of the vehicles that are electric in the marketplace being electric powered by our battery swapping system. And as Bruce just said, the near-term focus is really to take what we have learned and what we've developed in Taiwan and expand into the mobility space into markets that we have already announced. Markets such as India, markets such as Chile and Colombia, markets such as Korea, and others that we are actively participating within. Batteries are simply energy storage devices. They are, like you said, generators. They can instantly take energy and instantly give energy. We will focus on that thesis with mobility as the first function and the storage and smart grid usability as the kind of auxiliary services that they can provide. In the future, we don't know what's in the future for what batteries can do, but certainly what you mentioned as a storage device or generator can certainly be something that we can look into for sure.
spk10: Thank you, Horace. We have another few questions coming from online. I'm combining them all together because it's similar. They want to know the current status for policies in India on EV battery swapping or charging.
spk13: Okay, I can take that. Battery swapping, as I said, you know, earlier in the answer Q&A, you know, the battery swapping is still very new to the entire industry. While everybody recognizes and understands electric vehicle as a plug-in charging, There still needs to be a lot of work to be done to educate everybody on what battery swapping is and what battery swapping and how it's different than battery charging. So we're making inroads. We're meeting lots of politicians, a lot of policymakers, educating them. And we have formed, along with other partners, an association called the India Battery Swapping Association. And the association has partners like Hero, like Sun Mobility, like actually other partners like Honda and others that have actually joined what we call IPSA, which is India Battery Swapping Association. And with this association, a lot of seminars and a lot of meetings are happening as we speak to educate about battery swapping and how policies need to be adjusted to serve battery swapping. So that's, you know, we look forward to to a country that can be electrified through battery swapping because that's the only way we can, as Bruce said, zero downtime is the only way we can actually see electric being adopted in markets where very soon ICE vehicle for logistics will be banned. Cities like Delhi will be banning ICE vehicle from doing logistics. Doesn't matter that logistics is carrying goods, your lunch, or people. And so that's a great opportunity for us. And battery swapping is the only solution to serve that B2B market.
spk10: Thank you, Horace. We have another question from online. Can we get an update on Gogoro's solid state battery?
spk13: Sure. We continue to work with our partner on developing the battery solution. Gogoro's key differentiating factor is the technology behind managing the battery swapping network. Today, on the network, there are multiple generations of technology with different chemistries that are in the battery today, serving from 1.3 kilowatt hour to approximately 1.7 kilowatt hour. And those variety of batteries can be put into the network to serve our customer at any time. One of the value proposition that we give to our customer that people see as a great part of not buying a battery but swapping a battery is that they don't have to worry about the upgrade of technology. And that when a new technology is rolled out, they simply can subscribe and actually get access to it. And with the solid state battery, as we stated earlier with the announcement, it is years away still. And we're working diligently to make sure that we're one of the first people to be able to roll that out to our customer. But it will take time. Solid state batteries are still in this early phase. But it offers a lot of benefits such as safety, durability, long range and capacity. All those things are things that we can actually use to benefit our customers. But in the meantime, our network is ready to plug in any other technology that needs to be plugged in. And we're very flexible about that and serving our customers with different technologies. Thank you, Horace.
spk10: Operator, can you check again online whether we have anything from the audio?
spk09: There are no further questions from the audio at this time.
spk12: Great.
spk13: Thank you everyone for joining our call today. You know, 2023 was a challenging year for the overall market standpoint. We focus on delivering solid financial results regardless. In 2024, we're committed to continue development and deployment of the best technology, best vehicle, best battery swapping platform and ecosystem to ongoing innovation and performance leadership in electric two-wheel industry. We aim to deliver exceptional performance, efficiency and reliability, both in Taiwan and the international markets that we're going into. We're still in the early stage of electrification overall. Our goal Our goal remains to continue to support the inevitable transition from ICE-powered two-wheelers to electric two-wheelers. As always, we appreciate everyone's support as a community. It doesn't matter if it's our employees, our suppliers, and most important of all, our investors on this journey. Thanks for calling in today's webcast and talk to you guys real soon. Thank you.
spk09: The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's call. You may now disconnect.
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