MV Agusta: CFMOTO Deal Collapses, Dealers Barely Get Any Bikes

• Production in Varese reportedly halted since April 2026
• CFMOTO was set to take a 49 percent stake, the memorandum from June 2026 has been terminated
• 1,238 motorcycles sold through the end of July 2026, around 185 jobs considered at risk

A good year ago, everything at MV Agusta still sounded like a fresh start. In July 2025, CEO Luca Martin spoke about new models, rising sales figures and even about an entry into MotoGP. Today the question is a far simpler one: how does the brand from Varese survive the coming months? After the split from KTM and the failed entry of a Chinese investor, reports are piling up about unpaid invoices, empty warehouses and a production line that has been idle since the spring. With that, MV Agusta joins a series of shocks that have hit the European motorcycle industry since the KTM insolvency.

Why is production in Varese at a standstill?

According to media reports, production at the Varese plant has been completely idle since April 2026. The trigger was a collapsed supply chain after invoices from a larger number of suppliers went unpaid.

This was preceded by a capital increase that never took place. In March 2026, MV Agusta Motor S.p.A. had planned an increase of 35 million euros (around 40.6 million US dollars), financed by parent company Art of Mobility. The current commercial register extract shows that this measure, classified as urgently needed, was never implemented. For dealers and customers, that was the point at which rumours turned into a tangible problem: spare parts are becoming scarce, and clear answers from the factory are not forthcoming.

What was planned with CFMOTO?

CFMOTO was to take over 49 percent of MV Agusta, with the prospect of buying further shares later. In June 2026, both sides signed a memorandum of understanding that also provided for a restructuring in the double-digit million range.

The contact had been arranged by Hubert Trunkenpolz, who as chairman of the board of directors of MV Agusta Motor used his connections to KTM’s Chinese joint venture partner. In June 2026 he flew to China together with representatives of the Swiss investment company Circular Economy AG. The Swiss side also presented MV Agusta’s management with an industrial plan for the coming years.

In the view of industry insiders, the entry would have been a solid solution. CFMOTO is valued at 6 billion euros (around 6.97 billion US dollars) and generates annual revenue of 3 billion euros (around 3.48 billion US dollars). In Rimini, the group already operates its own European research and development centre under the name Modena40, built up and led by Spanish designer Carlos Solsona, who previously worked for Ducati and MV Agusta among others.

Why did the CFMOTO deal fall through?

According to media reports, the entry failed over a dispute about the terms of the restructuring. Art of Mobility ultimately terminated the agreement with Circular Economy AG unilaterally, followed by legal disputes.

The accounts differ on one important point. According to one report, individual negotiators on the MV Agusta side are said to have fundamentally reconsidered the sale to CFMOTO. As early as a meeting during EICMA 2025 in Italy, Chinese representatives had withdrawn because they considered the financial demands of the MV management to be unreasonable. Other accounts place this withdrawal at the centre and see it as the actual reason for the end of the talks.

A second attempt was running in parallel. German restructuring specialist Markus Hüter, founder and managing partner of Restart AG based in Wiesbaden, came into play together with former 500cc world championship rider Andreas Leuthe. Leuthe put together a working group tasked with finding a strategic partner from the motorcycle industry. There was a due diligence review, a valuation of the company’s assets and a new offer in the double-digit million range for 100 percent of the shares. No agreement was reached over a period of months.

Court dispute and resignation at the top

When Art of Mobility unilaterally ended the contract with Circular Economy AG, Hubert Trunkenpolz drew his conclusions. He resigned as chairman of the board of directors on 20 July 2026 with immediate effect.

Circular Economy AG is taking legal action against the termination of the purchase agreement and is represented by German, English and Italian lawyers. According to media reports, the investment company is said to have won an initial proceeding. MV Agusta’s management presents things differently and stresses: „non è stata emessa alcuna sentenza nel merito e non è stato disposto alcun trasferimento definitivo della proprietà“ (No ruling on the merits has been issued and no final transfer of ownership has been ordered).

In the meantime, the management is said to have applied for access to an out-of-court procedure for dealing with the corporate crisis. People with insight consider this route to have little prospect of success, because production has been idle for almost five months and many supplier invoices are outstanding. Long-standing business partners suspect that liabilities in the double-digit million range have built up once again.

What dealers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland report

Sales and service in the German-speaking market run through MV Agusta Operations GmbH, based in Cologne; the brand manager for the region is Sascha Renner. The feedback from the trade varies widely.

A long-standing dealer who has sold the brand since the days of the Castiglioni family describes the situation in stark terms: „MV non produce e non consegna nulla“ (MV produces nothing and delivers nothing). He says he has received exactly one motorcycle this year, has no new vehicles left in stock, not even a Brutale 1000, only demo models and used bikes. For two months he has also received no spare parts. At the same time, he has heard unofficially that an investor has been found and that production is due to restart in October.

In Switzerland, deliveries to individual dealers are said to have dried up as early as 2025. Out of desperation, some businesses from the German-speaking market drove to Varese themselves with small vans and trailers to collect individual new vehicles.

A larger dealer from southern Germany contradicts the picture of a production stoppage. He points to a good relationship with the factory, available stock and around 150 vehicles that he received from Varese in 2026. Models such as the Dragster RR Ottantesimo were still being built at the start of the year, he says. His explanation: „La produzione dei nuovissimi modelli 2026 inizierà soltanto a ottobre“ (Production of the all-new 2026 models will only begin in October). That MV Agusta needs a new investor after the split from KTM is obvious, he says, but he considers the brand disappearing to be out of the question.

How many motorcycles is MV Agusta still selling?

Through the end of July 2026, 1,238 motorcycles were delivered. Between 2022 and 2025, annual sales ranged between 1,855 and 4,500 units.

That leaves the targets from the summer of 2025 far out of reach. Luca Martin had announced sales of 4,000 motorcycles for 2025, with 10,000 as the long-term goal. After the split from Pierer Mobility in the transitional year of 2025, sales collapsed by 54.3 percent.

A look at the balance sheets shows how sharply the situation has turned. After the restructuring carried out by KTM, which also included a reorganisation of manufacturing and a capacity of up to 15,000 motorcycles per year, MV Agusta achieved revenue of 133 million euros (around 154.5 million US dollars) in 2023 with a positive EBIT of 11 million euros (around 12.8 million US dollars). In 2024, the books still showed 88 million euros (around 102.2 million US dollars) in revenue and an EBIT of 9 million euros (around 10.5 million US dollars). Since then, sales and revenues have been falling and the company is posting losses again. Around 185 jobs depend on how things develop from here.

How did the split from KTM come about?

The split was a consequence of the KTM insolvency. In December 2024, Europe’s largest motorcycle manufacturer had to file for insolvency with debts of around 1.2 billion euros (around 1.39 billion US dollars); in 2025 the stake in MV Agusta reverted to Art of Mobility.

This phase had begun in March 2023, when Russian entrepreneur Rashid Sardarov sold 50.1 percent of MV Agusta Motor S.p.A. through his holding company Art of Mobility to KTM AG, a subsidiary of Pierer Mobility AG. An unconfirmed figure of 60 million euros (around 69.7 million US dollars) has been mentioned. The buy-back by Sardarov fell into a period when the Pierer Group’s net debt stood at around 1.64 billion euros (around 1.90 billion US dollars) and equity was negative at 199 million euros (around 231 million US dollars). Notably, MV Agusta went back to the holding company debt-free and fully restructured, at a considerable loss for Pierer Mobility.

What happens to the MotoGP plans?

The MotoGP plans are off the table for now. The collapsed deal could also have included a joint project in the premier class; that route is closed with the end of the agreement.

CFMOTO is still considered interested in entering MotoGP, but then without MV Agusta. The Chinese manufacturer is already active in Moto3 and Moto2 and won the Moto3 title in 2024 with David Alonso. For MV Agusta itself, a different task takes priority: raising enough money to restart manufacturing in Varese and to supply the dealer network with motorcycles and spare parts. Luca Martin has so far not commented substantively on the latest developments.

From Agostini to Pierer: a brand with many owners

Crises and changes of ownership are part of MV Agusta’s history. The motorcycle division was closed in 1978, two years after the brand had withdrawn from the world championship with 75 world titles. Giacomo Agostini won the last 500cc class Grand Prix for MV at the Nürburgring in 1976.

In the nineties, Cagiva founders Claudio and Gianfranco Castiglioni revived the brand. For the new flagship model, they brought in Massimo Tamburini, the designer of the Ducati 916. The inline four-cylinder engine with 750 cubic centimetres was developed from scratch, and the cylinder head with radially arranged valves was developed in close technical collaboration with Ferrari. In 1997 the F4 750 stood at EICMA in Milan; in 1999 the first 300 examples of the Serie Oro arrived at a price of around 36,000 euros (around 41,800 US dollars). The design was considered so distinctive that the F4 was exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Harley-Davidson followed in 2008, then the buy-back by Claudio Castiglioni in 2010 for a symbolic sum. On 31 October 2014, Mercedes-AMG took a 25 percent stake; in July 2017 this collaboration ended and the shares went to Sardarov and his company ComStar Invest. On 3 November 2022, Pierer Mobility AG initially bought 25.1 percent, followed on 15 March 2024 by a majority stake of 50.1 percent. Since 2025, Art of Mobility has again held all shares.

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