GS Caltex to offer charging for Kakao Mobility bikes

Officials from GS Caltex and Kakao Mobility pose for a photo to celebrate their partnership at the GS tower in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, Tuesday. [YONHAP]

GS Caltex will operate charging stations for Kakao Mobility’s shared electric bicycles at its gas stations from next month, the two companies said Tuesday.

To start, GS Caltex will install facilities at five of its gas stations in Songpa District, eastern Seoul, Incheon, Jeonju and Ulsan.

GS Caltex and Kakao Mobility — which is 69.3-percent owned by Kakao — signed an agreement Tuesday.

The deal involves GS Caltex’s gas stations and also repair services offered by GS Mbiz, a subsidiary that operates a car-repair business. Its AutoOasis branch in Ulsan will start offering repair services for Kakao’s electric bikes next month.

The plan is to gradually expand locations at oil stations and repair shops in the country’s main cities.

Kakao Mobility operates about 3,000 electric bikes at the moment, in Gyeonggi, Incheon, Jeonju and Ulsan. Under the current system, the company had to send out workers to collect bikes for recharging or repair. The partnership with GS Caltex will give it access to multiple repair shops and charging stations in the country.

For GS Caltex, the partnership with Kakao Mobility is one of many efforts to utilize its oil station assets to offer new services. Earlier in May, it announced a one-stop “energy station” that caters to gasoline, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), electricity and hydrogen vehicles. It also offers parking spaces at 130 or so gas stations for shared vehicle services.

“The partnership is to create synergy by combining GS Caltex’s infrastructure and Kakao Mobility’s platform-based service. We plan to expand our partnership using the existing network of oil stations,” the two companies said in a joint statement.

BY SONG KYOUNG-SON [song.kyoungson@joongang.co.kr]