Pierer New Mobility: From powersports to bicycles

When a €2.4 billion 2 wheeled business with more than 5’000 global employees makes moves it’s no surprise it garners plenty of attention. When that business, a multi-brand motorcycle manufacturer with MotoX, Trials, Rally, MotoGP and other teams, decides that bicycles and eBikes are a major long-term part of their business growth road map… then they’ve got our undivided attention.

Pierer Mobility AG, Europe’s largest motorcycle manufacturer, is now 4 years into its bicycle and eBike journey, under the banner of Pierer New Mobility (PNM), one which already sees the business having sold more than 140,000 units, equating to €200 + million in revenue, a number the business aims to triple over the next 3 to 5 years.

Bold statement? Yes. Consider this, for context: An average 16% growth, year on year, over the past 30 years. That’s the Pierer Mobility AG track record.

In the lead up to Eurobike, the business invited more than 650 retail partners to an exclusive look into the company’s development plans, strategic investments, and new products from the Felt, GASGAS, and Husqvarna brands.

On the evening before Eurobike, the “Dealer Night 2023” in Frankfurt saw the PNM team lay out its future-focused strategy, built on 4 key areas: strategic global partnerships, an international brand portfolio, innovative products, and strong relationships with its dealer network.

“Dealers First” is the organization’s motto. Beyond compelling products and sharpened brands is an extensive catalogue of measures to support dealers globally. For bicycle and eBike retailers, this means receiving support from the same global team who delivery motorcycle dealer support.

Critically, the Pierer Mobility AG way is to have capability reside within the business. This means that 10% of its workforce are R&D focused, located across Spain, Austria, and Germany. The Pierer Mobility AG head office is also home to the ‘Retail Solutions’ function, a direct nod to supporting the dealer partner.

PNM partner support also comes in the form of Retailer Financial, where partnership with Santander extends to its bicycle and eBike retailers, just as it does to its motorcycle retailers. This means, for example; a ‘fully supported’ finance campaign that runs from July to end of September – meaning dealers can offer their customers 12-36 months 0% finance on any PNM brand at no cost to the dealer.

Where this finance package is offered to the customer, PNM offers its IBDs 90 days, interest free, and an optional further 180 days at 4.75% monthly – wholesale finance that aims to make doing business as supportive and enabling as possible.

This is just as is for PNM motorcycle retailers in the UK though the company offers similar support in other principal markets.

For IDBs, working with PNM starts with a ‘6 bikes on the shop floor’ minimum, where the order is based on 50% down payment on the initial order.

You’ll see a consistent theme here: Bicycle and eBike retailers being engaged, partnered with, and supported, in the same way that PNM does business with its motorcycle retailers. This approach also includes supporting retailers through shop fit out, with options to create shop in shop space via branded POS.

This already exists in 10% of PNM motorcycle dealers now offering bicycles and eBikes, where the business has also promoted the Cytec level 2 and level 3 qualifications, alongside employing of salespeople with a bicycle background.

How does a motorcycle manufacturer make bicycles and eBikes?

“We are investing massively in a successful future. The best example of this is our joint venture, Pierer-Maxcom, where we partner with one of Europe’s largest bicycle assemblers. Together, we’ll now have our own warehousing, logistics, and assembly plant in Bulgaria thereby offering more flexibility and service for our dealer partners,” affirms Florian Burguet, CSO Pierer New Mobility. This manufacturing partnership represents a €45 million deal.

For an organisation that is young in the bicycle business PNM is has made a point of hiring cycling industry veterans, and our Eurobike conversation with cycling industry veteran, Eric Sakalowsky, VP Marketing, Pierer New Mobility, was made possible by Ash Clark, former CSG Head of IDB Sales, now Head of Sales at Pierer eBikes UK.