We at InsightEV are guilty of being critical of Europe-based startups. In the past, we have analysed how the continent, once the hub of innovation and engineering, grapples with demographics, a declining population, and a highly fragmented motorcycle market.
InsightEV – Global Electric Mobility
However, there is no denying that when it comes to cutting-edge engineering and sticking your neck out for your passion, European entrepreneurs are second to none. We also keep reminding ourselves that most of the recent cutting-edge engineering – from Tesla’s giga-casting to Damon’s 3mm thick cast monocoque- is driven by European suppliers.
So when we spotted Positive Motorcycles ticking off milestones in their development of the EGERA performance electric motorcycle, InsightEV was keen to sit down for a long conversation with the Founder-CEO, Timoteo Maffei.
InsightEV: We want to get into the background of Positive Motorcycles and your journey as an entrepreneur. I know you’ve been running a supplier company, making components for motorcycles, and now you have your own electric motorcycle startup. What really drives Positive Motorcycles?
Timoteo Maffei: So, I have been working for the last 20 years in the biomedical and automotive industry. I’m more from the supply chain operation, developing and putting into production, typically complex products like biomedical devices. I also did some projects with MotoGP motorbikes.
My latest project – Positive Motorcycles – is about electric motorcycles because, in the end, it represents the future of transportation, and I strongly believe that the de-carbonization of cities will be through two-wheelers.
InsightEV: How long have you been working on the Egera, the first model from PSTV?
Timoteo Maffei: The idea started more or less in 2020, so it’s almost four and a half years. This is the first electric motorcycle I designed, even though I had already worked on other ICEngine motorcycles in the past. This project started really from scratch, from a white paper.
InsightEV: From what I understand, I think you are one stage before the start of series production. Am I right? You are still testing the final prototypes?
Timoteo Maffei: Yeah. So we’re still in startup. We are still in the initial phases of startup. That means we have a product, we have an idea, we have a lot of stuff behind the logo, website, a business plan, as well, and so on. But we are not yet in production.
InsightEV: Some of the recent testing that I’ve seen on your LinkedIn page involves taking the PSTV Egera to incredibly high speeds. Would you like to talk about the capabilities of the motorcycle?
Timoteo Maffei: So yeah, we tested the bike in an extreme environment. We were on the airport track in Switzerland. There is an ex-military airport track and we took the bikes to reach almost more than 170kph. We were just 0.2 seconds slower than a competitive 800cc motorcycle. I believe that at the end, if you test in the racing environment, then it’s challenging. Once you are good in that condition, you are for sure good also the good in the cities. Yeah, so for the Egera, one of the main drivers will be the future testing in really extreme environments, also track testing, in mountains, desert, etc.
InsightEV: I look at Europe as a very fascinating market. It is a very prestigious market. A lot of technology development takes place here. But at the same time, it is also a very fragmented market. There are a lot of brands, and everyone has a very small share of the market. In such an environment, what do you see as the future growth outlook for PSTV?
Timoteo Maffei: So you mean where to place my specific model in the market?
InsightEV: Yes. Would Europe be your primary market, or are you also looking at global markets?
Timoteo Maffei: So I’m looking at the beginning, the European market, because it is the way that you can grow in a solid way. You have to be close to your baby at the beginning. So to have customer feedback, strong relationships, the first step will be in the European market. Despite it, maybe not the best market today to be in.
For the next stage, I’m actively seeking a relationship with an OEM based in India, Indonesia, or Saudi Arabia, to understand if there are some local producers interested in manufacturing the Egera through licensing.
Obviously, for these markets, the product would need some adjustments to fit the real market needs for these countries, because they are different from Europe. But yes, we are looking as a first step, the European market to consolidate the product, the project, and the team.
Later, as a second step, we go locally to India and Indonesia as the more attractive markets.
The motorcycle is positioned in the middle. I believe that there are a lot of the most sold motorbikes – the small bikes like Sur-Ron and Talaria, and now we have a huge background with a large population driving these small bikes. So, I’m preparing for the next two or three years when this large customer base will be looking for bigger size of motorbikes.
So, now who is driving, for example, a Sur-Ron or a Talaria, maybe in two years he will he will be comfortable to use electric motorbikes every day, but he’s looking for something more comfortable, more full-size, more premium, so we are preparing this market. However, we are not going to the extremes like Energica because that today, in my opinion,it is too extreme. You cannot satisfy the premium market and compete with Ducati or Yamaha today.
InsightEV: You mentioned Energica and you know, Italy has a strong tradition of motorcycle startups and prestigious motorcycle brands like MV Agusta. Where do you see the ecosystem currently terms of electric motorcycles? Do you see a lot of startups coming through, or is this a phase of consolidation where funding is a bit of a challenge?
Timoteo Maffei: I see different phases. We had a boom before COVID, so 2019-20, everybody was developing products, but then in 2022-23, a lot of companies failed, like Cake and Sondors. After that, the investors in 2024 were more focused on application startups, software, etc.
However, in the last months at least, from experience, it seems that investors are coming back to hardware. I don’t believe that there are a lot of real startups in Europe. We are probably five, six, or seven, not more, startups making real products, and not just rebranding. Now investors seem to be going back to hardware, so probably something will be better in the next year.
The most challenging is the investment because, in 2020-21, a lot of investors burnt their fingers in wrong investments that went bankrupt, like Cake. Now its hard to convince new investors why electric mobility could be a good investment. The Cake experience, and Sondors, and some more are not helping to convince people.
InsightEV: While developing the PSTV, did you have to go outside Italy for the supply chain? Where are most of the suppliers based?
Timoteo Maffei: We have 80% sourcing from Italy, including the motor. The liquid-cooled motor is produced in Italy. The frame and the aluminum swing arm are from a Ducati supplier. The radiator is also from a Moto GP supplier. So, from a supply chain perspective, Italy or Germany, or Europe is a good place to be because we have a lot of high-quality suppliers. So, it’s not a big deal to get high-quality radiators, or high-quality motors, or high-quality swingarms, brakes, etc. For all this stuff, we have legacy manufacturers like Brembo, specialised Ducati suppliers, and so on.
I’m now developing a new battery with a Germany-based supplier, one of the biggest in the world. Also, the dashboard is now in development with a German supplier. But let me say 80% are from Italy and 20% from Germany and Spain. Yeah, it’s possible to have a 100% European supply chain, apart from the battery cells.
InsightEV: So I looked at the specifications of the Egera and what you’re trying to do with the motorcycle, and the components seem to be really high specs and very high quality. Are you concerned that you will end up pricing the motorcycle too high for the market, or do you see there is enough potential at that price band in the market where you would get to?
Timoteo Maffei: We know for sure that one of the ways to compete with the Far East is on quality and customer experience, and the guarantee to have a supply chain 100% in Italy or Europe. One of the key points is to guarantee a strong spare parts availability because typically some products coming from China are just selling a batch of products but maybe there is no service after 5-6 years. So, one of the key drivers will be maybea higher cost of the products, but good service.
My bikes are for European commuters and professional commuters. So they need the bike to go to the office, and so if the bike is broken, it’s a problem. So, we have to guarantee that the bikes will be repaired with local components in a short time.
From a price point, the target is to sell the bikes in Europe at a cost of around EUR 10,000-11,000. Not more.
InsightEV: Yeah, it’s pretty competitive for that segment, I think.
Timoteo Maffei: I don’t want to go to EUR 20,000, I can tell you. Maybe you can do a limited edition carbon fiber whatever for EUR 15000, but the base price should be around or below EUR 11,000. That’s more or less the scale. It’s impossible to go lower than like EUR 7,000-8,000 with a huge battery and a liquid-cooled motor, an aluminum swing arm, all of which cost very high
InsightEV: And the initial manufacturing of the motorcycle would stay in Italy?
Timoteo Maffei: Yes, to feed Europe. In the second step, if we are able to onboard an Indian manufacturer, the idea is to localize the production in India and customize the motorbike for the Indian market. You know that will not be a big deal because, for example, plastics can be plastics in Italy or in India, with the same quality. The same goes for sheet metal components, and so on.
The design is already registered in India, and we can achieve the same quality levels with local Indian suppliers.
InsightEV: Got it. What is the timeline looking like now? When do you see this on the road?
Timoteo Maffei: I bootstrapped the whole project. Okay, so the development, physical prototyping, testing, and so on, is all bootstrapped. Now are am open and more focused on investors onboarding. Investor(s) onboarding will speed up the time to market. The idea is to close the onboarding of investors and partners within 2025 to get the motorcycle rolling out by the end of 2026.
InsightEV: Who is your typical customer?
Timoteo Maffei: For the end customer, I am not looking for food delivery services, for example. I am also not looking for the extreme speed market. I’m really targeting the user who wants to go every day to the office, maybe living 20 kilometers from work. He needs a cool solution, and that’s not just a classic plastic scooter. Maybe they’re looking for something like Harley-Davidson did 30 years ago in Europe. You know, you want something that is attracting people’s eyes.
Also, the design is a little bit different from the others. So, the Egera is really visible. It’s pretty easy to recognize design as it is a standard, like a Royal Enfield, with double shock absorbers.
We are open to onboarding with a plan to start in Italy to feed Europe, and in parallel, by licensing, start from a more attractive country like India or Indonesia.
Till now, we have suppliers helping me by providing motors, frames, and so on. I’m now going to have a letter of intent with them to consolidate. I already have a distributor for Europe interested in the distribution of the motorcycles.
InsightEV – Global Electric Mobility
InsightEV – Global Electric Mobility
InsightEV – Global Electric Mobility
InsightEV – Global Electric Mobility
InsightEV – Global Electric Mobility
InsightEV – Global Electric Mobility
InsightEV – Global Electric Mobility
InsightEV – Global Electric Mobility
InsightEV – Global Electric Mobility
InsightEV – Global Electric Mobility
InsightEV – Global Electric Mobility
