Bultaco

Back again - Bultaco signing dealers for new breed of crossover bikes

The legendary Spanish off-road motorcycle brand Bultaco has a storied place in motorcycle history. From humble beginnings by the ex Montesa race team under the ownership of former senior Montesa Director Francesc ‘Paco’ Bulto, the company was established as a direct response to Montesa’s decision to pull out of racing.

Brinco R

Alberto (Urban Moto-Bike)

From 1959 the company made mostly air-cooled two-stroke singles in Barcelona until the factory closed for a second and final time in 1983.
The first model was the 125cc Tralla 101 in 1959, and with long distance speed records in the 1960s, World Championships in the 1970s, including eight consecutive World Trials Championships thanks to Sammy Miller’s help in developing their lightweight two-strokes to counter the four-stroke dominance in trails riding up to that point, Bultaco built a huge fan base in Europe, the USA and elsewhere – their best known model being the Sherpa T.
The name made a comeback in the 1990s, when Marc Tessier bought the rights and sold Bultaco branded bikes built at his Sherco factory in France before retiring the name in 2001. Since then the rights to the brand lay dormant.
 
 “robust off-road and urban-proof chassis configurations”

However, in 2010 a consortium led by Jorge Bonilla (as General Manager and VP Sales & Marketing) consolidated ownership of the rights to form a new Bultaco company, and after securing phase one capital of 20m euro, announced its comeback in London in 2014.
However, in 2010 an entrepreneurial team including first-rate international professionals, with whom Jorge Bonilla (current General Manager and VP Sales & Marketing) founded an engineering firm specialising in mechanical and electronic design, focused on developing its own patents. Three years later they consolidated the ownership of the rights to form a new Bultaco company, Bultaco Motors S.L., then, on May 17th 2014, Bultaco celebrated an emotional event in London to announce its return to the international motorcycle market.

Bultaco General Manager/Sales & Marketing VP Jorge Bonilla: “We are opening up an entirely new niche”

Headquartered in Madrid, the company has established a 2,000 sqm production facility where some 30 plus staff (out of a total company-wide team of 50 people, 20 of whom are engineers) started series production of a new range of the Moto-Bikes, Bultaco Brinco, in November 2015. The company has now sold over 2,000 bikes, mostly in Spain, UK and Benelux.
 
“we are targeting 1,000 sales outlets by 2021”

With financing of a stage II business plan also now secured and 116 dealerships (“Points of Sale”) already established in 24 countries, the new Bultaco company made its expo debut at EICMA this year, showcasing its growing range and successfully meeting new importers and distributors from right across Europe.
The new range includes two models, Brinco (off-road) and Albero (urban), in six versions, that demonstrate the same ground-breaking concept: the Moto-Bike. As Jorge describes it, the Moto-Bike sits between conventional motorcycles and bicycles in what he describes as “an entirely new class and sector of the market that is being defined, developed and established by our bikes and engineering. A hybrid solution getting the most out of both the motorcycles and bicycles.”

That new class features robust off-road and urban-proof chassis configurations with wheels, components and lithium-ion batteries that can “deliver many years of tough riding. Having proven our designs off road, the most demanding of markets, we are now ‘going downtown’ with the launch of the ‘Albero’, our second planned series production model.”
These new models are set to tap into the market’s zeitgeist at a time when mainstream motorcycle dealers are looking for entry level opportunities to get into light urban mobility, and when an entirely new generation of dealerships are opening up, shops catering specifically to the fast-growing new generation of urban riders.
“Our business model is to appoint importers to manage national distribution and brand support, but also to work directly with shops until we have found the best solutions on a market by market basis. However, we are taking it slowly, this is a serious long-term project, so we are not going to rush into relationships that can’t stand the test of time. We are looking for the right partners, not just any partners”, said Jorge when IDN met with him at EICMA.
 
“we can produce up to 25,000 bikes a year”

Price-points start at around 3,300 euro for the entry level Brinco R-B (net of taxes etc.), with registration and regulatory requirements generally quite light, depending on the market and the speed rating. Jorge says that the bikes have “class leading range and charge times” and “sufficient charge cycles so that most people will have replaced the bike before they feel the need to replace the battery.”
With an initial stocking commit that depends on the models, market and opportunity, Jorge says their business plan targets having some 1,000 sales outlets right across Europe by 2021.
With an initially cautious approach, production capacity shouldn’t be a problem. “Right now, we are just running one shift and one production line and can produce some 6,300 bikes a year on that basis. We can expand production to three shifts if we need to do so, and have the space for a second production line that we can eventually tool for new models and special editions for particular markets or even specific retailers.
“What we have tried to do is to be as faithful as possible to the spirit and values of the original brand, honouring the heritage and recognising the passions of the brand’s legions of enthusiasts.
“However, faced with a contemporary market much changed from where that heritage lived, we see our responsibility as creating a new chapter in the Bultaco story, based on the same design and engineering excellence, but anticipating where the demand and opportunities lie as we head towards the mid-21st century”.
www.bultaco.com