To call the last couple of years for MV Agusta turbulent would probably be understating the situation.
The company has struggled for financial stability ever since its re-acquisition by the Castiglioni family, and that struggle has recently come to a zenith with the firms debt restructuring and investment by the Anglo-Russian investment group Black Ocean.
With that comes some harsh realities, namely that MV Agusta will not be producing a new superbike any time soon, as the cost of the project exceeds the Italian manufacturer’s capabilities – so said MV Agusta CEO Giovanni Castiglioni while talking to Alan Cathcart for Australian Motorcycle News.
Instead, the company will focus on a new four-cylinder Brutale model, which will get a displacement increase to 1,200cc. We expected to see this machine at the 2016 EICMA show in Milan, but alas we will have to wait a bit longer for its debut…for obvious reasons.
Castiglioni is rumored to have sold somewhere between 30% and 40% of MV Agusta to the Black Ocean investment group, though no dollar amount has been associated to that transaction. Similarly, there has been no word regarding Mercedes-AMG’s ownership position in the Italian marque.
One would presume from the lack of news on this front that AMG’s interest’s remain in MV Agusta, and presumably that Giovanni Castiglioni no longer has an outright majority in the company’s ownership structure, both of which would be interesting developments in MV Agusta’s ongoing saga.
MV Agusta has also quietly rolled back its volume expectations for motorcycle production, with Cathcart reporting that MV Agusta plans now to sell 5,000 units annually, down from the 9,000 figure we have previously heard from Castiglioni.
That figure is more in line with the number of staff that we are seeing let go from MV Agusta, with the workforce going from roughly 300 people down to a number below 200. AMCN reports too that the R&D department has shrunk from 70 people to 40.
With much still to come from MV Agusta’s debt restructuring, new model development, and 2017 racing plans, we see no shortage of news coming from Italy about this historic brand. Stay tuned.
Source: Australian Motorcycle News
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