German sports car brand Porsche is bringing all of its engine-building know-how to the two wheeled world with a bespoke e-bike motor.
A good number of carmakers are getting in on the e-mobility action and crafting their own e-bikes or e-scooters, from Ford all the way to Peugeot. Porsche has already been in the market with the eBike Sport and the eBike Cross, but now the brand is dedicated to creating its own in-house drive system.
Earlier this month, Porsche announced a new joint venture with Ponooc Investment B.V. to help with developing the drive system over the next few years. After that’s been completed, the goal is to launch a “new generation of Porsche e-bikes by the middle of this decade.”
The earlier Sport and the Cross e-bikes had run off of drivetrains manufactured by other, already-existing companies like Shimano. Now, Porsche’s e-Bike Performance GmbH will develop its own electric drive systems instead. The company plans to design the motors, batteries, and software all in-house.
Ponooc Investment B.V. serves as the venture capital fund for Pon Holdings, which also has financial ties to other bike companies like Cannondale, Cervelo, Focus, Santa Cruz, Schwinn, and others.
This is all part of a larger, more aggressive strategy of investing in e-mobility by the Porsche brand. Back in February, the company had acquired a 20% stake in Fazua, the e-bike system manufacturer. Shortly before that, Porsche had acquired a majority stake in Croatian e-bike manufacturer Greyp. So in a few years, P-car fans can expect to see an e-bike that’s all Porsche, from soup to nuts.
SOURCE | IMAGES: PORSCHE, VIA GEARJUNKIE.
