TVS Divests Stake in Ion Mobility
India-headquartered TVS Motor has informed through an exchange filing that it has divested its stake in Singapore-based ION Energy. At the same time, the company has acquired some assets from ION for a cash consideration of ION for a cash consideration of USD 1.75m.
The assets include ION Mobility’s IPs and talent, including CEO James Chan, who has joined TVS as a Sr. VP.
TVS owned a 25.64% share of ION Mobility. The company first invested USD 18.9m in ION in Feb 2023 (official release). This was followed by another investment of USD 5.5m in Mar 2024.
For some time, the companies were working together and had even hinted at plans for Project Dynamo, ION’s adaptation of the TVS X scooter for the Indonesian market. ION’s founder-CEO James Chan wrote in his Substack:
“It is an honour for my team and I at ION Mobility to have the chance to work with TVS Motor on the sports scooter segment, with the amazing TVS X as the starting point for Project Dynamo. We are committed to elevating the ION brand into the top lifestyle brand for electric motorcycles in Indonesia, and believe that the co-creation that comes from both of our teams’ combined efforts will absolutely delight Indonesian motorcyclists in the months and years ahead.”
A concept was also unveiled, which was just the TVS X in ION mobility livery.
This was planned to be launched after ION had finished the development and commercial launch of the M1-S, ION’s original scooter for the Indonesian market.
However, that did not happen. ION Mobility has been stuck with delays in the tooling and industrialization of the M1-S, which James Chan mentioned in his Substack, the company’s primary communication medium. Through the founder’s blog, ION mentioned in December 2024 that they had unforeseen delays in bringing the M1-S maxi-commuter to production.
The angst seemed so great that James stated that ION would refund all pre-orders and stop taking pre-orders until the M1-S enters production.
It would be helpful if we re-post the screenshot from the ION founder’s blog here:
Impact: What does the divestment deal mean?
Integrating ION Mobility assets into the much larger TVS fold indicates that the Indian manufacturer is looking to be a serious player in the rapidly emerging electric scooter market in Indonesia. ION has created some impressive IPs in motor, battery, and vehicle packaging.
TVS already has a brand and manufacturing presence in Indonesia. The way the deal has been structured seems to be an efficient way (for TVS) to get ION completely into the TVS fold.
The Strategic Investments of TVS Motor
Since 2017, TVS has been making strategic investments/acquisitions in the mobility field. It started in December 2017 with investing in the Indian electric motorcycle startup Ultraviolette in the early stages. Since then, TVS has participated in multiple rounds in Ultraviolette and now holds an estimated 28% of the company. The cumulative investment of TVS stands at about USD 25m.
Ultraviolette sells the F77 motorcycle in the Indian and international markets. Recently, it has announced two new products that are in the development stages. We covered this subject a few weeks back.
InsightEV – Global Electric Mobility
It is notable that despite the significant investment and a near 30% equity holding, TVS and Ultraviolette do not operate. closely. For all purposes, Ultraviolette is a strategic investment for TVS.
The company’s most talked-about acquisition has been the British heritage brand Norton Motorcycles, which it acquired in December 2020 when Norton declared bankruptcy. Since then, TVS has kept Norton stable, footing the bills but never quite turning it around. Now, recent media reports suggest that Norton would bring a new range of 400cc single-cylinder motorcycles to rival Royal Enfield. Considering that TVS is also a JV with BMW to make similar large capacity single-cylinder motorcycles, it is likely that a common engine platform may be under development.
Still, it has been four years since the Norton acquisition, and progress till now has been painfully slow.
The most flummoxing investments/acquisitions have been in the electric bicycle segment. TVS is not a player in electric cycles when it comes to its native Indian market. India actually has a very small electric bicycle market. So when the company acquired Europe-based EGO Movement, an electric bicycle manufacturer, we were surprised.
TVS followed it up with another acquisition in the same space in 2022 when it acquired the Swiss Electric Mobility Group (SEMG).
This was the start of the decade, and expensive electric cycles were a hot emerging commodity in Europe. The market still has a lot of meat, but the competition is brutal.
Impact
TVS needs a maxi-commuter scooter in Indonesia. The market is already hot with multiple startups readying similar-looking and similar-specced products. The ION M1-S would have been a good bet as it beats everything else on offer if only ION could have gotten it to production.
Damon hires Engines Engineering
Damon has issued a press release stating that they have hired engineering consultants Engines Engineering to further develop the Hypersport and enable a faster time to market.
From the Press Release:
Damon Inc. (NASDAQ: DMN) (“Damon” or the “Company”), a designer and developer of electric motorcycles and other personal mobility products that seek to empower the personal mobility sector through innovation, data intelligence and strategic collaborations, today announced a strategic collaboration with renowned Italian engineering firm Engines Engineering, enabling the acceleration to market of the Damon HyperSport Race electric motorcycle. The collaboration with Engines Engineering, which has extensive MotoGP racing expertise, provides Damon with a capital-efficient approach to product development and rapid technology validation. Through this collaboration, Damon expects to validate its proprietary electric powertrain technology and AI-enabled systems in a high-performance track application on an accelerated timeline. The HyperSport Race program will serve as a technology demonstrator for Damon.
By leveraging its modular technology platform, Damon has streamlined its expected development costs to under $10 million – significantly below the $25-70 million typically required for road-going versions. This capital-efficient strategy fast-tracks the validation of Damon’s advanced HyperSport systems, with initial product expected within 12 months.
“The HyperSport Race program provides an optimal platform for rapid validation of our HyperSport technology stack,” said Mr. Dom Kwong, Interim CEO of Damon. “This focused approach allows us to test our proprietary HyperSport electric powertrain architecture, advanced battery management technology and AI-enabled safety systems under extreme conditions, generating crucial data to advance our technology development,” stated Mr. Kwong.
“Engines Engineering is proud to collaborate with Damon in accelerating the validation of their advanced HyperSport electric mobility technology,” said Mr. Manfredi Fenici, CEO and Vice-President of Engines Engineering. “Our racing expertise combined with Damon’s innovative technology creates an efficient platform for pushing electric powertrain performance boundaries.”
The HyperSport Race program and strategic collaboration with Engines Engineering is the first step of Damon executing its updated strategic business plan, Damon 2.0, which has established four distinct potential revenue verticals – Data Intelligence, Personal Mobility, Licensing and Engineering Services, and Special Projects – creating multiple pathways for growth. The Company’s proprietary safety systems and electrification technology continue to be core differentiators in the market, supported by capital efficiency and economics. This approach optimizes the operational efficiency while advancing the Company’s mission in mobility innovation and data intelligence. Damon’s strategic focus in sustainable transportation solutions, combined with its diversified potential revenue streams, strongly positions Damon for long-term value creation.
Impact
Engines Engineering is well known in the area of two-wheeler functional development, though we are not aware if they have also created strengths in developing electric powertrains.
Also, letting go of your engineering team to outsource development may not be very cost-effective.
USD 10m is a good amount for the development of the motorcycle, but would not be sufficient for the tooling. That easily needs USD 20-25m, considering the Hypersport uses large section HPDCs with 3mm wall thickness as the core strength bearing members. That needs tooling, expensive suppliers, and investment.
The bigger question is that if Damon still has to spend USD 10m in further developing the motorcycle, how and where did they spend the estimated USD 70m raised to date?
Damon’s market cap stays very close to zero even though they successfully raised USD 16.5m equity through an underwritten round. Any positive news from the company may also be an attempt to improve the mood.
Ola Solves Vehicle Registration
In a media statement, Ola announced HyperDelivery, which claims same-day registration and delivery of vehicles.
From the Press Release
Impact
That sounds great, and maybe a media release is needed. However, every OEM dealer in India registers vehicles within a 2-3 hour time window. So what Ola is claiming is actually them catching up with other OEMs.
Also, AI for automation seems like an attempt to make a hyperbole where none is needed. Every other OEM uses regular automation to drive the same process.
InsightEV – Global Electric Mobility
