Porsche buys a 20 per cent stake in e-bike drive system supplier Fazua.
Porsche is best known for the legendary 911 sports car – but with the recent Taycan line it has proven it knows how to make a great electric car too. And the company’s electric ambitions extend beyond that: it has recently upped its interest in the e-bike world – and is set to expand its line-up of two-wheeled offerings.
The Stuttgart firm has just acquired a 20 per cent stake in Fazua, a Dutch firm that has developed an influential line of lightweight compact drive systems for e-bikes. Fazua’s system weighs 4.6kg, and can offer up to 250 watts of power and 56Nm of torque. It currently supplies motors to bike firms including Cairn, Canyon, Pinarello and Trek.
Notably, Porsche has the option to purchase future shares in Fazua – and potentially to take over the company completely in the future. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
But the Fazua deal isn’t Porsche’s only significant e-bike move: it has also agreed to establish two joint ventures focused on electric mobility with investment company Ponooc.
One of those joint ventures will be tasked with developing, manufacturing and distributing a future generation of “high-quality” Porsche e-bikes, while the other will focus on technological micro mobility solutions.
Porsche currently offers two e-bikes – the Sport and off-road Cross – which are developed and built by German e-bike firm Rotwild. Porsche said that it will continue to work with Rotwild, but the new joint venture with Ponooc and the investment in Fazua could lead to Porsche bringing more development in-house in the future.
The company has previously bought a controlling stake in e-bike manufacturer Greyp. It’s digital arm is also developing a platform named Cyklær that will offer cycling-based digital services.
As with all car companies, Porsche is investing reality in electrification for the future. The Taycan is now offered in several formats, and the firm is working on a next-generation electric-only version of the Macan.
James Attwood