If any doubt remained about whether Porsche wanted to move toward e-bikes and do it decisively, its recent corporate acquisition served to dispel it.
Back in February, the German carmaker acquired a 20% stake in Fazua. At the time, it registered as another distinct step into the e-bike sector by the carmaker, which had also recently bought a majority stake in Greyp.
The terms of the February Fazua acquisition left the door open for Porsche to buy more shares. Last week, it took full advantage of the option.
Porsche announced it acquired all shares of Fazua on June 8, which should help it secure some design agency in e-bike drive system development.
“Fazua is known among experts as the founder of the ‘light e-Bikes’ category – and it’s a highly innovative company that fits perfectly with the pioneering spirit of the Porsche brand,” said Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG and Member of the Executive Board for Finance and IT.
Outlook
Meschke also called Fazua Porsche’s “partner,” but the capacity in which the e-bike tech company will continue to exist is unclear. Porsche only said it plans to “merge its e-bike activities” in the future by establishing two joint ventures under Ponooc Investment BC.
Porsche said the first joint venture will develop, manufacture, and distribute a “future generation” of Porsche e-bikes. The other will focus on “technological solutions for the micro-mobility market.”
Previously, the carmaker generally “made” bikes by outsourcing parts and technology. Once it had all the elements it needed, it fit them all together with its design ingenuity. The results were last released in spring 2021 in the form of the eBike Sport and eBike Cross.
As it continues to snatch up design and implementation resources, it becomes increasingly clear that the brand wants more ever more control over its output.
An increasingly firm alignment with a powerful venture capital fund in the sector won’t hurt, either.
The carmaker’s prior partial acquisition of Fazua helped it “establish a strategic partnership” with Ponooc, Pon Holdings’ VC fund, at the time. Pon Holdings boasts financial ties to Cannondale, Schwinn, Santa Cruz, Cervelo, Focus, and more.
Porsche said that independent of the joint venture activities, it will continue to work with its long-standing partner Rotwild on its current e-bike offerings.
