Kreidler Europe Motor GmbH (based near Bielefeld in Germany) is insolvent. Founded by Anton Kreidler in 1903, the cult status of the Kreidler brand (owned by two-wheeler manufacturer Cycle Union GmbH/Prophete Group) was being leveraged for the development and sale of bicycles, scooters, mopeds and small motorcycles from 50 to 125 cc under the "Kreidler" label. Five plus years ago, the production of all ICE series models was discontinued with the focus instead on selling two-wheelers with electric drives, e-bikes and pedelecs. (B&B)
Royal Enfield's electric motorcycles are "in advanced stages of testing", according to reports. A bike coded L1C is expected to be on sale by 2025. Meanwhile, in other and almost certainly not unconnected news, RE parent company Eicher Motors recently made a strategic € 50,000,000 (10.35%) investment in Anton Wass' 2019 founded Barcelona based Stark Future SL - of insanely good Stark 'Varga' electric MX bike fame.
Norton has started to make deliveries of its new, re-engineered V4SV - the 185 bhp, 1,200 cc V-four luxury sports bike that got caught up in the fallout from the collapse of the Garner era Norton farrago before the brand was bought out of bankruptcy by Indian conglomerate TVS and rehomed at a new production facility at Solihull, Birmingham, in England. Deliveries of its new Commando variants are also underway in this, Norton's 125th anniversary year. (BDN)
Energica Motor Company has delivered its first shipments to Japan and Australia - deliveries include Energica's newest model, the Experia. In Japan it has signed a strategic partnership with importer Estar & Co., Ltd., who has opened a mono-brand showroom in Kobe, on the man-made island of RokkÅ Island. It showed the 2023 Energica range at the Tokyo Motorcycle Show in March. Energica has partnered with Australian Electric Motor Co. to import its electric motorcycles into Australia and New Zealand. From its HQ on the Gold Coast, AEMC is developing a network of dealers throughout the continent. Additionally, Energica recently introduced its products to the Pakistan market.
Based at Remagen near Bonn, E-scooter manufacturer Kumpan (owned by e-bility GmbH) has filed for bankruptcy. Delivery bottlenecks for urgently needed components, high energy prices and seasonal reluctance to buy have led to losses. The start-up, founded in 2010 by the three German-Swedish Tykesson brothers, designs, develops and produces e-scooters in various performance levels and sells them under the brand name Kumpan electric. It is hoped that an investor can be found. (B&B)
BDN reports that uncertainty has been hanging over road racing in northern and southern Ireland with the cancellations a real possibility unless funds can be raised to meet spiralling public liability insurance costs. The events affected could include the iconic North West 200, Ulster GP, Tandragee, Armoy and the Sunflower event at the Bishopscourt circuit. Check the MCIU (Northern Ireland) and Motor Cycling Ireland (Republic of Ireland) websites for updates.
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has announced a basic agreement on a partnership for software development with KPIT Technologies Limited of India - one of the largest software integration partners for the automotive and mobility industry. The two companies will work together on software development in areas such as operating systems for the next generation of electrical/electronic (EE) architecture; electrified powertrains; advanced safety and automated driving; IVI (In Vehicle Infotainment ) and connected technologies.
British MX spoke wheel specialist Talon expanded its Yeovil, England factory last year, with all products designed and produced in-house. Well known for its partnership with HRC, the company followed up its production of extended swingarms for KTM Group brands with a new range of triple clamps. (BDN)
With four victories and four further podium places, BMW Motorrad once again achieved a great result in the Motorrad magazine readers' vote in Germany for 2023.
Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek, electricmotorcycles.news, RideApart.com, Motor1.com, Cycle World, motorbikewriter.com
