German sports car brand Porsche has once again tapped into the emerging e-bike sector, investing in yet another electric bike company as it acquired a minority stake in German e-bike drive systems manufacturer Fazua.
Porsche’s investment in Fazua will be combined with a strategic partnership between Porsche and Amsterdam-based energy and mobility venture capital firm Ponooc Investment B.V. Together, Porsche and Ponooc will look to create two joint ventures active in the field of electric mobility.
Porsche announced late last week that it had acquired a 20% stake in Fazua, with an option to purchase further shares which would give Porsche outright control of the company.
Located in Ottobrunn near Munich, Fazua was founded in 2013 and is a pioneer in the development of lightweight and compact electric drive technologies used on e-bikes.
While the name ‘Fazua’ might not sound familiar, many e-bike brands utilise the company’s drive systems and it boasts over 40 e-bike brands using their systems. Fazua not only makes e-bike drive systems for both off-road and road e-bikes, but also makes its own bikes for road, gravel, mountain, and urban settings.
Having invested in Fazua and holding the opportunity to gain outright control in the company, Porsche will now partner with Ponooc Investment to develop two joint ventures to be active in the electric mobility sector.
The first joint venture will focus on the development, manufacture, and distribution of high-quality Porsche e-bikes, whereas the second joint venture will focus on developing technological solutions for the fast-growing micro-mobility sector.
This is by no means Porsche’s first foray into the e-bike sector, having already developed the Porsche eBike Sport and eBike Cross, which first went on sale in early 2021.
Porsche also acquired a majority stake in Croatian e-bike manufacturer Greyp Bikes in November 2021.
A subsidiary of Croatia’s Rimac Automobili, which in tun is 24 per cent owned by Porsche after a share purchase in June, Greyp 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.
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.