Troubled Italian motorcycle firm MV Agusta is said to be back on track and resuming full production. From a Motorcycle News report, Giovanni Gastiglioni, chief executive officer of MV Agusta, said the factory was now producing its full range of existing and upcoming models.
This turnaround comes as a surprise as the company was previously in troubled financial waters, with rumours of an acrimonious split between MV Agusta and its 25% stakeholder, Mercedes-AMG. Much of the strife arose from a debt that would fall due should Mercedes-AMG’s stake in MV fall below 20%.
In the summer of 2016, reports emerged that MV Agusta was having to restructure financially, and was forced to slash budgets in order to continue operating. Castiglioni said that MV Agusta is now generating cash flow, costs have been reduced and downsizing the company to concentrate on core models like the Brutale.
“We are still discussing the exact situation with new investors but right now we are generating cash and, combined with the existing investors we have, there may not be a need for additional investment,” said Castiglioni. “This is still to be decided for sure but by the end of October we have to submit a plan regarding future investment plans. Everything is open at the moment,” he said.
Castioglioni emphasised that MV Agusta will concentrate on its high-end machines, and will not be dipping into the lower-end of the motorcycle market, citing Ducati’s 400 cc Scrambler Sixty2 as an example. “New bikes like this will have to wait for a while, as there is no cheap way of developing new motorcycles – and we need to focus on our core products right now,” Castiglioni said.
One of the hurdles facing MV Agusta is that all motorcycles sold in Europe from January 2017 will have to be Euro 4 compliant for noise and emissions, with a certain quantity of non-compliant legacy stock allowed to be sold. According to Castiglioni there are no plans to remove any bikes from its range for Euro 4.
He added that all new models for 2017 will be released. Castiglioni also said there was the possibility of a surprise of two later in the year, following the unheralded reveal of the MV Agusta F4Z by Zagato.
