German automaker Porsche has acquired a majority stake in Croatian electric bicycle (e-bike) manufacturer Greyp Bikes, continuing its effort to acquire stakes in more companies to broaden its electric and digital offerings.
Greyp is a subsidiary of Croatia’s Rimac Automobili, which in tun is 24 per cent owned by Porsche after a share purchase in June, 2018 was expanded in the following years.
Porsche said its majority takeover of Greyp – which will leave only Mate Rimac and other Greyp founders retaining a minority stake in the company – will help to further expand its activities in the sector.
“Porsche is a pioneer of sustainable mobility and is consistently driving forward its e-mobility strategy,” said Lutz Meschke, deputy chairman of the executive board of Porsche AG.
“Porsche has been a leading provider of plug-in hybrids for years, in 2019 we launched the first all-electric Porsche – the Taycan – and last year, one in three of the vehicles we delivered was fitted with an electric motor. Our ambitious goal is to have a CO2-neutral balance sheet across the entire value chain by 2030.”
Greyp currently offers a number of e-bikes across three specific model ranges – the eMTB (mountain bike), the eSUV city/trekking bike, and the high-speed eHyper. A fourth model range, the eCity, is due to launch in 2023.
Mate Rimac, CEO of Rimac Group, aside the company now had a 100-people strong team that had “undoubtedly created the most connected and technologically advanced e-bikes on the market.
Porsche has claimed that it will also look to deploy the knowledge gained from the battery-electric drive in its vehicle models into the fast-growing e-bike market, which have a fixed place in Porsche’s e-mobility strategy.
Back in March, Porsche expanded its range of bikes with the Porsche eBike Sport and eBike Cross, both of which have almost sold out and received a positive market response.
As of March, Porsche had invested stakes in over 20 start-ups and eight venture capital funds, and is looking to invest a total of €15 billion in new technology over the next five years, with €6.5 billion earmarked as development costs for the hybridisation and electrification of vehicles.
A further €5.5 billion will be invested in digitalisation issues such as intelligent mobility offers, car IT, innovations and new business processes; and €3 billion in facilities relating to e-mobility such as charging infrastructure or buildings for the production of electric vehicles.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.