Porsche acquires lightweight e-bike maker Fazua in full
Porsche has taken over Fazua, a manufacturer of light and compact drive systems for e-bikes. The take over follows Porsche earlier taking a 20-per cent stake in the German start-up. It is also part of a drive at Porsche to expand its e-bike business.
Fazua, based in Ottobrunn, near Munich, is considered by Porsche a “pioneer in the development of lightweight and compact drive systems”. Indeed, the company was established in 2013 for the sole purpose of developing a lightweight e-bike drive. Today Fazua employs more than 100 people and claims that over 40 brands rely on their technologies, including Bianchi, Cube, Pinarello, and Focus.
“In Fazua, we have found a strong partner with a great deal of experience in the bicycle industry,” says Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG and Member of the Executive Board for Finance and IT.
Their e-bike system integrates the motor inside the bottom bracket and also hides the battery inside the frame, making it only slightly bigger. Overall, the drive weighs in with no more than 1.5 kilos, including the battery for a range of 50 km.
How exactly Fazua will fit into the Porsche range has yet to be seen. However, when Porsche took 20% in Fazua this February, it had also announced a strategic cooperation with Ponooc Investment. In today’s statement, Porsche added it would now merge all e-bike activities by establishing two joint ventures with Ponooc Investment. The first joint venture will develop, manufacture and distribute a future generation of high-quality Porsche eBikes. The second will focus on technological solutions for the fast-growing micromobility market, so the company.
Ponooc is the investment arm of Pon Holdings, one of the biggest family businesses in the Netherlands. The Pon portfolio includes 15 bike brands, Gazelle, Cervélo, Focus, Kalkhoff, Cannondale, Schwinn, and Caloi.
Independent of the joint venture activities, Porsche says it will continue to work with its long-standing partner Rotwild on its current eBike models. In March 2021, the company launched the Porsche eBike Sport and the eBike Cross. The sports car manufacturer also owns a majority stake in the Croatian eBike brand Greyp.
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