Electric Motorcycle Powerhouse Energica on the Verge of Going Bust

Energica Motors is said to be on the verge of going bust and emergency meetings are currently ongoing.

According to reports in Italy, Energica Motors is reportedly in danger of going bust as the electric motorcycle company has already laid off employees and has narrowly avoided eviction.

Energica Motors is considered one of the electric motorcycle leaders and has successfully supplied race bikes in the MotoE world championship, which is a series that falls under the MotoGP umbrella.

But American outlet Revzilla said this about the ongoing situation: “The Energica Board of Directors met Friday without coming to a decision and is scheduled to meet again today. If Energica does go under, as appears likely, it will follow a trend of manufacturers of high-end, high-performance electric motorcycles that have not been able to build a sustainable and profitable business.

“That's despite the fact that Energica had some real success, both in producing consumer models that won acclaim and successfully supplying race bikes for the MotoE World Championship, run in conjunction with MotoGP, from 2019 to 2022.”

Given its success as both a bike supplier for MotoE and producing a range of models for customers, some sections of media in Italy is holding Energica’s parent company, Ideanomics, responsible.

Ideanomics is an American electric commercial firm that, according to Revzilla, has an unsteady history.

Ideanomics bought a major share in Energica in March 2022 and currently owns more than 70 per cent of the Italian company. Energica's original founders and other members of management still own the remaining 30 per cent.

Ideanomics has hardly been a “stable company,” says Revzilla, after it has already overhauled its business model and its name more than once. It was formerly involved in video on demand and later petroleum trading, but currently, the firm’s focus is promoting conversion to electric vehicles.

The former CEO, former CFO, and current CEO were all accused by the American Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with providing fraudulent financial information to investors between 2017 and 2019.

That was before Ideanomics bought a majority interest in Energica. The SEC settled the matter and Zheng Wu, the former CEO and chairman of the board of directors, paid a whopping $3.56 million in penalties and interest. The former CFO and the current CEO each paid a $75,000 fine and the company paid a $1.4 million fine.