When an electric motorcycle brand, RGNT Reborn, on its second innings, goes down the bankruptcy road just because some motorcycles were delayed due to a logistics snag, it is a worrying sign for many in the industry.
On the one hand, it reminds us of how fragile some startups are. Think of it, RGNT was always a niche project. This time around, things unfolded very quickly. A few motorcycles were delayed due to a snag with a delivery partner.
This, in turn, disrupted payments.
Cashflow bled.
Suppliers went to the Gothenburg District Court, which ruled in their favour.
The company is insolvent. Game over.
For most readers in developing markets, where the actual E2W revolution has any chance of success, RGNT’s demise seems unbelievable. How small and fragile are things if a delayed payment for a few motorcycles triggers bankruptcy?
This is not the first time that RGNT has been declared bankrupt. They first did that in December 2023.
Then, in Feb 2024, the founder, Jonathan Åström, bought back the IP and assets from bankruptcy and restarted operations. He named the company RGNT Reborn, moving on from the original RGNT Motorcycles.
The Challenges of Niche Electric
RGNT has always been a passion-driven, wobbly business case. Handcrafted motorcycles, made in Sweden…and that’s it.
Peel away the layer of premium Swedish workmanship, and there was little going for RGNT. Sure, the motorcycles look good, but there is a very small market for British-retro-style electric motorcycles.
It doesn’t help that, arguably, Maeving had better-looking machines.
On the engineering front, no self-respecting engineering team would put a large hub motor in the rear wheel of a motorcycle. We understand RGNT did that to maximise battery space, but we are in 2026. And when we say large, we mean it. This motor hits a 46 kW peak.
The business case was never confidence-inspiring. The market for handcrafted electric motorcycles with retro/classic cafe racer styling is niche. These are motorcycles designed to look good going slow. The only missing ingredient is the thump of a large single. The electric powertrain cannot deliver that.
That means the audience across the developed world is a few hundred buyers.
The World is Moving On
It also doesnt help that the world is moving on fast and no longer would pay premium, or any price to, geo-tagged competence. Terms like Japanese precision, German engineering, “Insert European Country Name” handcrafted have little relevance today. They have been replaced by “Everything is made, and you know where.”
Handcrafting itself has problems. You want to rise to the level of Rolls Royce but the customers are not the same. You can also aspire to be a MV Agusta but don’t have the engineering chutzpah. Not to mention, MV Agusta has a chequered financial history.
What the geotagging and handcrafting does is that it pushes you in a corner and one can never aspire for a scale beyond a cottage industry operation. The handrcafting in Sweden, just like the manufacturing in California, is a liability in terms of costs.
That’s what RGNT Reborn had to face.
