OTTOBRUNN, Germany – To speed up their e-bike business, Porsche and Pon Holdings’ investment vehicle Ponooc founded two joint ventures. “We see great potential for Porsche in e-bikes. This is why we are consistently expanding our activities in this area," says Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG.
Porsche will also develop and produce e-bike drive systems under the Porsche brand name. - Photo Porsche
In recent months, Porsche has acquired stakes in several companies in the e-bike market. In addition to the Croatian eBike brand Greyp, these include Fazua. After the foundation of the new joint ventures, the brand name Fazua and its compact drive systems will stay in the market. Porsche will also develop and produce e-bike drive systems under the Porsche brand name. Both product categories will be distributed to e-bike manufacturers worldwide.
The level of investments of both companies remains undisclosed. According to a company spokesperson it will take probably till mid-decade before the first products will be launched and it is too early to make any statements about projected future sales.
Joint ventures
The newly founded joint venture Porsche eBike Performance GmbH, based in Ottobrunn near Munich, will develop electric drive systems for two-wheelers. These include motors, batteries and the necessary software architecture for connectivity solutions. Stuttgart-based P2 eBike GmbH – powered by Porsche intends to use these drive systems to launch a new generation of Porsche eBikes from the middle of this decade.
The appointment of high ranking Porsche manager Jan Becker, the former CEO of Porsche Lifestyle GmbH & Co. KG, chairman of the management of Porsche eBike Performance GmbH show the importance of the e-bike market for the company. His counterpart at P2 eBike GmbH will be Moritz Failenschmid, who is also the Managing Director at Focus Bikes.
“Jan Becker and Moritz Failenschmid are proven experts when it comes to setting up and developing forward-looking and customer-oriented ventures,” said Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG. “As part of a highly skilled and motivated team, they will prove this in the two joint ventures. As is characteristic of Porsche, it’s all about developing products that inspire people through intelligent design, sophisticated technology and outstanding performance.”
Porsche eBike Sport and Porsche eBike Cross
Independent of the joint venture activities, Porsche is continuing to work with its long-standing partner, Rotwild, on its current e-bike models. In March 2021, the company launched its interpretation of exclusive electric bikes with the Porsche eBike Sport and the Porsche eBike Cross. In addition, Porsche Digital GmbH offers a platform for digital services relating to cycling under the Cyklær brand. This project gives a glimpse of how much innovative power is contained in the new joint ventures: the multi-award-winning Cyklær Bike was developed together with Fazua and Greyp.