Castrol Dips an Oily Toe in Electric Scooter World

Oil lubricant company Castrol is diversifying into the field of micro-mobility by taking a large stake in an electric scooter battery-swap company.

The company, owned by the oil giant BP, is pumping a $50 million investment into Gogoro, a Taiwan company that boasts a network supporting more than 600,000 vehicles and has more than 1.3 million smart batteries in circulation through its network of 12,500 battery-swapping stations. At the heart of the technology is an open and interoperable battery-swapping platform for lightweight two-wheeler and three-wheeler urban vehicles.

Its system provides 450,000 daily battery swaps with more than 590 million total battery swaps to date. It also claims its network is available in 45 cities, mainly in Asia, serving 2.8 million ecosystem subscribers.

Castrol’s investment is expected to allow Gogoro to expand its service to more cities and countries while providing much needed ‘green’ credentials for the oil company.

Michelle Jou, Castrol CEO, says: “Two-wheelers are a critical part of our global product portfolio and as our customers transition to electric two-wheelers the Castrol brand has an important role to play in the ecosystem.”