According to Bike Europe, Porsche has plans to build its own e-bike motor factory. However, the development comes alongside news that the Greyp Bikes brand, in which it acquired a majority stake in 2021, is to be discontinued. Porsche has become more invested in the e-bike market over the last few years, acquiring Fazua, the drive system manufacturer, last year, before later announcing it would also develop its own motors.
In February 2023, Porsche announced that Croatia-based Greyp Bikes would be folded into Porsche eBike Performance and now it seems the brand is no longer with the technology being absorbed into other areas of the business. There have been no numbers given for job losses. The brand added that customer service for any existing Greyp Bikes customers will continue.
A spokesperson for Porsche told Bike Europe: “The shareholders of Porsche eBike Performance d.o.o. have decided to focus on the core business and thus the development and production of e-bike drive systems. In the course of this, the Greyp E-Bikes business segment will be gradually closed until 31st of December 2023.
“In the past weeks and months, various options were carefully weighed against each other. These also included talks with possible investors for the continuation of the e-bike business.”
The combination of Fazua, Greyp Bikes and Porsche has already led to significant developments, including an e-bike motor which was described as “very promising” during testing in the Alps back in April.
Up until now, Porsche’s frames and e-bike design have largely been done in conjunction with fellow German brand and e-bike specialists Rotwild, but the takeovers of Fazua and Greyp Bikes seemed to signal greater focus.
In June of this year, Porsche expanded its e-bike range with the Cross Performance and Cross Performance EXC models. These were again developed in conjunction with Rotwild, suggesting the firm is willing to be patient in developing its own bikes and motors.
The past few years has seen an influx of automotive companies making their move into the world of micromobility, with Polestar announcing a partnership with Allebike last year, and Audi launching a similar partnership with Italian e-bike brand Fantic earlier this year.
While Porsche has not confirmed a location for the new factory, it is rumoured that Croatia is high on the list of possibilities.
