E-Scooter Alliance Set Up in Taiwan to Promote Industry Development

Taipei, Feb. 6, 2012 (CENS)--Over 20 companies in Taiwan recently took part in an initial meeting organized by the domestic Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to set up an electric-scooter action alliance, the E-team.

Dr. Kevin Lee, ITRI consultant, says the E-team will discuss feasible business models with local governments and vehicle makers to ultimately build a competitive e-scooter industry in Taiwan.

According to Lee, all major makers of e-scooters and light electric vehicles (LEVs) as well as power cells, battery packs and recharging equipment participated in the meeting, including Kwang Yang Motor Co., Ltd., Sanyang Industry Co., Ltd., Yamaha Motor Taiwan Co., as well as the units under the ITRI, including Mechanical & System Research Laboratories, Material and Chemical Research Laboratories, Industrial Economics & Knowledge Center, and the Electronics Testing Center.

Lee summarized the alliance's basic strategies:

1. Alleviate consumers' apprehension toward e-scooters and jointly market E-team members' products that are nationally certified.

2. Attract qualified companies in Taiwan's e-scooter sector to the alliance openly and impartially.

3. Help members cut product development and production costs, and upgrade global competitiveness.

4. Help the government and related organizations to set up a comprehensive e-scooter certification system for product safety, performance and reliability etc..

5. Build a successful business model and cooperate with local governments to pilot-test members' e-scooters.

After the initial meeting, Lee said that many members have shared valuable experiences and opinions that are very helpful to the alliance's future operation, with at least four Taiwan E-Scooter Standard-certified e-scooter makers being engaged in production of common charging connectors.

The alliance plans to hold meetings to discuss e-scooter related industrial standards and common propulsion modules, as well as with local governments to take part in pilot projects.