On a wall inside the Gogoro Experience Center in Taipei, there's a big, neon-green sign proclaiming that the future is now. That bold declaration has never been truer than today, with Gogoro shipping out the first of its electric Smartscooters to preorder customers.

Gogoro started taking orders for the Smartscooter in Taiwan a month ago, pricing it at a reasonable 128,000 Taiwanese dollars (roughly $4,100) and including a year's worth of theft insurance and two years of free maintenance and unlimited battery swaps. This is an introductory offer, says the company, designed to attract its first customers through the door, and over the long term users will have to pay a subscription fee to retain access to Gogoro's battery-swapping network. There are now 65 GoStations up and running in Taipei, which will be the only places you'll be able to get a fresh charge — there's no option to juice up your electric scooter at home.

Gogoro has received more than 400 Smartscooter preorders, which the company believes is a "strong" early performance. Smartscooter availability is limited to Gogoro's hometown of Taipei for now, but if it proves a success there, the company will look to expand to other scooter-friendly locations around the world. For now, the focus is on rapidly expanding the number of battery-swapping stations around the Taiwanese capital and ensuring that every one of those first 400 customers is treated to the best possible experience of Gogoro's vision of the future of personal transportation.