MV Agusta healthier than ever, teases Cagiva Elefant could relaunch brand

MV Agusta’s troubled recent past appears to be consigned to the history books, that’s according to CEO Timur Sardarov who has discussed the health of the company he took over two years ago and the immediate plans for the future.

Originally coming on board as an investor, the Sardarov family assumed full control of MV Agusta in 2019, signalling the end of the Castiglioni family’s historic involvement.

While there had been some cynicism as to the Russian businessman’s intentions with one of motorcycling’s most storied - but troubled - marques, under his stewardship the company has steadily re-organised its existing range, made moves to address long-standing concerns regarding reliability and ownership experiences, and put the investment in place for a significant expansion of the line-up.

It means, according to Sardarov, in an interview with Moto.it, that MV Agusta is the healthiest and most future-forward it has been for some time.

“One of my first objectives was to resolve the situation of financial stress that the company was experiencing and lay the industrial and commercial foundations for its growth. Today, these objectives have been achieved and we can look to the future with renewed confidence, comforted by the success our new models are achieving.

“In 2021 we expect to exceed 100 million euros in turnover for the first time in history, and to triple this figure within the next three years.

Currently MV Agusta is busy updating trim levels and introducing Euro 5 compliance to its current range, but once this has been completed the company will turn its attention to the future, in particular plans to enter new segments, not least the mid-range segment with a 550cc model line.

“A 550 and 950 [will come]. Both projects take 24 to 28 months from now to complete. Perhaps the 550 could arrive first.”

The return of the Elefant: MV Agusta, Cagiva or its own brand?

One intriguing rumour doing the rounds last year was the return of the Cagiva brand - having been dormant for around a decade now -, as well as a resurrection of the iconic Elefant adventure bike that conquered the Dakar Rally.

However, at the time Cagiva was touted as being the brand for a range of electric-focused urban mobility vehicles, while the Elefant might end up on a MV Agusta badged model.

Now though, Sardarov appears to hint that it could marry the two up after all to create a modern-day Cagiva Elefant, or Elefant could become a brand in its own right focused on off-road models.

“Cagiva is a brand that belongs to MV Agusta. Our marketing department is evaluating the possibilities of products with the Cagiva brand and we are also considering whether to define Elefant as a ‘sub-brand’ of MV Agusta or as Cagiva Elefant. The decision hasn’t been made yet.”