Porsche isn’t playing around when it comes to electric bikes. Not only has the German automaker already launched its own line of electric bicycles, but now we’re getting word that Porsche has bought up yet another company in the e-bike industry.
This time Porsche set its sights on a company known as Fazua.
You may not know them by name, but there’s a chance you’ve seen one of the 40 different e-bike brands that carry their motors.
While e-bike motors often bring to mind major players like Bosch, Brose, Bafang, Shimano and Yamaha, Fazua has developed perhaps the most innovative electric drive systems of all.
That’s because Fazua’s mid-drive motors are actually removable from the electric bike, along with the battery pack. That allows riders to remove essentially all of the extra weight of an e-bike when they want to go it alone, sans assistance or extra weight.
And the latest news out of Fazua is that they’ve got a new owner: Porsche.
The deal sees Porsche purchasing an initial 20% ownership of the company for an undisclosed amount, with the option to buy enough additional shares to put Porsche in majority ownership of the company.
Porsche also announced that it is establishing a strategic partnership with Ponooc, a Dutch investment company that specializes in sustainable energy and mobility solutions. Porsche says that it will establish two ventures with Ponooc.
As the company explained:
“The first joint venture is to develop, manufacture and distribute a future generation of high-quality Porsche e-bikes. The second company will focus on technological solutions in the fast growing micro-mobility market.”
Porsche has already released a pair of high-end electric bicycles under its own brand. It also recently purchased a controlling stake in premium electric mountain bike company Greyp, which was developed by electric hypercar manufacturer Rimac.
Electric bicycles may be Porsche’s newest electric focus, but it is far from the brand’s first. The all-electric Porsche Taycan was presented in 2019 as the brand’s first electric sports car.
Almost 40% of the cars Porsche delivered in Europe last year were either all-electric or hybrids. Worldwide, that figure was nearly 25%.
And Porsche isn’t the only automaker investing in electric bicycles.
Peugot has its own extensive line of e-bikes, and Spain’s SEAT has partnered with Barcelona-based Silence to roll out its own seated and standing electric scooters.
GM developed an electric bicycle in-house, though the project was killed off early in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jeep has gotten into the high-power e-bike game via licensing agreements, though their similar attempt to co-develop an electric scooter was significantly less impressive.
Even motorcycle manufacturers like Harley-Davidson and BMW Motorrad have gotten into electric bicycles and scooters, though Harley’s results have been much more impressive than BMW’s.
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Author: Micah Toll
Source: Electrek
