There will be no new superbikes from MV Agusta in 2017.
That’s what reports quoting MV Agusta CEO Giovanni Castiglioni are saying this week.
Many ownership changes over the past decade and a declining market have forced MV to cut production drastically, and it also incurred substantial costs with the recent upgrades to the Brutale 800 RR.
MV Agusta is struggling with around €50 million in debt and is still looking for investors to help bail the company out, but at this stage it’s future remains uncertain.
It is rumoured the company recently sold between 30 and 40% of its shares to the Anglo-Russian investment group Black Ocean and Mercedes-AMG previously purchased a 25% share.
On the bright side, development of the new 1200cc 4-cylinder Brutale is continuing, but it won’t be released this year. Rumours suggest it will use the engine from the F4 rather than incur the development costs of a totally new engine.
And just last week MV signed a deal with DNC Asiatic Holdings of Malaysia for an assembly plant in the region.
The Asia-Pacific market accounted for nearly 20% of MV Agusta’s sales volume in 2016, and DNC subsidiary Moto Varese will take over distribution of the brand in the region.
It’s hard to know what direction the company is truly heading in – reports coming from MV Agusta regarding its financial state have always been confusing and somewhat optimistic in recent times.
We can simply hope that such a prominent European marque finds a way through its troubles.