MURRIETA, Calif. (BRAIN) — Pierer New Mobility GmbH — the e-bike business unit of Pierer Mobility AG — says it will consolidate its functions to headquarters in Munderfing, Austria, and Murrieta, California, and phase out its operations in South Africa, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
The California and Austria offices will handle global customer service, marketing and sales for the e-bike business, which is the parent of the e-bike brands Husqvarna and GasGas.
"As part of the strategic realignment, PNM is also working to process existing inventory to the maximum degree. During this transition phase, daily business for customers will continue as usual. There will be no disruptions in the delivery of spare parts and accessories or in customer service," the company said in a release this week.
Felt Bicycles was formerly a part of the New Mobility group, but it was sold to a consortium including its former managers in 2023, with Pierer Mobility's CEO and Founder, Stefan Pierer, also remaining an investor. The release clarified that Felt will not be affected by the changes.
On Nov. 27 Pierer Mobility's KTM motorcycle business unit filed for a court-supervised restructuring, a process it said it would complete in 90 days. In December Pierer appointed Citigroup Global Markets Europe to lead the process.
The company said in late November that its bicycle and e-bike business was unaffected by the challenges faced by the motorcycle group.
"Our (bike and e-bike) operations will continue as usual, ensuring uninterrupted delivery of bicycles, spare parts, and accessories. Customer service and the flow of goods remain unaffected. All existing commitments, including retailer entitlements, discounts, and bonuses, will be honored as agreed, and payment schedules for current invoices remain unchanged," the Nov. 27, 2024 release, signed by Stefan Pierer, said.
Pierer steps down
The company announced on Thursday that Stefan Pierer is stepping down as CEO, with Gottfried Neumeister taking over the position. Neumeister and Pierer will serve as co-CEOs during a transition period. The company also announced that it sold 106,311 electric bikes and bicycles last year, a decline of about 32%. It said the decline was due to the sale of its R Raymon brand.
'Business as usual' in the US e-bike market
Pat Hus, Pierer New Mobility North America's sales director, told BRAIN earlier this month that the e-bike business remained unaffected by the motorcycle group's restructuring.
"The financial challenges we are facing today are largely at the parent level and therefore we have not been impacted as much. We are operating as business as usual," Hus said.
The KTM bicycle and e-bike business is a completely different company that is not connected to Pierer or the restructuring.
