Sources : AMD , IDN , FT , Reuters , PSB , MPN , BDN , MCN , AP , Bloomberg , MSNW , Electrek , electricmotorcycles . news , RideApart . com , Motor1 . com , Cycle World , motorbikewriter . com
NEWS
BRIEFS
Having acquired Cooper Tires , the parent company of Avon Tyres , Goodyear has announced that Cooper Tires Europe is to close the 130-year-old Avon site at Melksham in England . The company will " gradually phase out all Melkshambased operations by the end of 2023 ". IDN contacted Goodyear for information as to whether Avon branded production will continue elsewhere , or if this is the end of the road for Avon Tyres , however , as at press time , the silence had been deafening . We are left to draw our own conclusions , I guess .
Zero Motorcycles ( Scotts Valley , California ) has completed a new funding round worth some $ 107m . The proceeds will " fund the scaling of its global operations and the introduction of new models ". Investors include Polaris , Exor , Hero MotoCorp , long-time backer Invus , and others . Since its launch in a Santa Cruz garage , Zero has sold over 20,000 vehicles that have accumulated over 165,000,000 miles of on-road and off-road experience . With this round of financing , Zero Motorcycles has raised in excess of $ 450m of capital and will bring the cumulative capital raised to above $ 500m , with an anticipated additional closing by year end .
Following the lead set by Honda and others , Brembo is to establish a business incubator of its own , " Brembo Ventures " - a venture capital unit that " aims to accelerate the development of innovative solutions for the mobility of tomorrow ". BV will also coordinate relations with the start-ups where Brembo is a shareholder . One such is its 6.8 % acquisition of PhotonPath , a business that " creates new solutions for the digitalisation of braking systems ". BV also holds a 20 % stake in Infibra Technologies - a 2014 founded research institute spin-off that develops and produces integrated photonic systems .
PIERER Mobility takes 25.1 % ownership stake in MV Agusta
Three months ago , PIERER Mobility ( KTM , Husqvarna , GasGas etc .) announced a strategic partnership with Italy ' s Varese based MV Agusta to distribute the Italian manufacturer ' s motorcycles through its own dealer network in the United States . MV Agusta has often struggled to be able to manage a viable dealer network in USA and , these days , with the Russian owned Italian marque ( Timur Sardarov is CEO ), to have a more stable production programme stepping up its American availability made sense . However , at the time of the announcement , there weren ' t many in the motorcycle industry in Europe whose immediate response to the news was that it was likely to be a first stage in a strategic alliance that would likely go deeper , and quickly . Well , so it has proved . Very quickly . Stefan Pierer does very little without it being associated with a bigger picture , and in early November 2022 more of that picture started to emerge . This second stage strategic announcement has three elements to it . First , KTM AG , the PIERER Mobility subsidiary that owns the KTM motorcycle manufacturing operation , will provide MV Agusta with supply chain support and take over purchasing . Second , MV Agusta will partly distribute its product range via PIERER Mobility ’ s worldwide distribution network . While the announcements from both MV and Pierer are not specific , this strongly suggests joint venture distribution of MV models by KTM way beyond just in the United States , if not yet fully integrating MV availability through the KTM distribution network . Third , and most tellingly , effective November 2022 , KTM AG ( as opposed to Pierer AG ) " will acquire a 25.1 % stake in MV Agusta Motor S . p . A . by way of a capital increase ". The structure of the deal suggests that MV Agusta CEO Timur Sardarov ' s primary driver in seeking to ally MV to KTM so closely is capital requirements and availability . The extent to which that itself is driven by financial issues at MV , or by financing needed to fund Sardarov ' s ambitious plans for electrification of the MV range and other previously alluded to new model plans , will no doubt become clear in the months and years ahead - though don ' t expect a 25.1 % stake to be the high watermark of Stefan Pierer ' s own ambitions for the strategic alignment . Although we here at IDN have no evidence to suggest this to be the case , it is pure speculation on our part , but one would have thought it likely that capital resources at Sardarov ' s family owned ComSar Invest / Black Ocean Group set-up must be under pressure as a result of sanctions . It was the
Sardarovs ' capital that rescued MV from its loveless marriage with Mercedes-AMG and MV who sold Husqvarna to BMW , who then ' flipped ' it onto Stefan Pierer . It is interesting that it has been Pierer who has stepped in , rather than Loncin in China , with whom MV has had a partnership agreement to produce models , including small displacement MV badged bikes , since 2019 . In China , KTM is partnered with CFMoto . We ' ll see !
In other news , PIERER Mobility has announced that it is to distribute its Chinese partner CFMoto ' s motorcycles and scooters in select European markets from 1st January , 2023 - Austria , Germany , Switzerland and the UK .