MV Agusta in crisis: what the clarification really confirms

MV Agusta's grand plans for the future, which CEO Luca Martin presented to me in an interview at the last EICMA, appear to have stalled significantly. There is a considerable gap between the plans and the current reality. In this report, I try to work out how this gap came about.

According to information available to 1000PS, actual motorcycle production has effectively been at a standstill since April. This information is consistent with statements from UIL (Unione Italiana del Lavoro), a major Italian trade union federation, as well as FIOM-CGIL, the metalworkers' union within the CGIL trade union federation, and with reports from the European dealer network. Work in the offices apparently continues on a limited basis, but there can currently be no talk of regular production operations.

The local Italian daily newspaper Il Giorno also reports, citing union representatives Fabio Dell'Angelo, Giorgio La Rosa and Marinela Cozma, that the production lines have been at a standstill since April. The 184 employees are said to be under a so-called solidarity contract until the end of December, a scheme comparable to short-time work. In September, work is reportedly taking place on only four to five days for the entire month in some cases. Salaries have reportedly been paid so far, but suppliers are said to have outstanding invoices.

GPOne also reports a standstill since April, citing among others dealers from several European markets. One long-standing dealer states that he received only one new motorcycle in 2026. In addition, no spare parts have been delivered for two months.

This alone does not necessarily confirm or disprove a production standstill since April. Motorcycles that were built earlier in the year or already stockpiled beforehand can, after all, still be delivered even during a production halt.

On top of this comes a planned capital increase of 35 million euros. This is said to have been decided in March 2026 and to be financed through the Sardarov family's Art of Mobility holding company. According to GPOne, a current commercial register extract shows that this financing measure, described as urgently necessary, was not implemented.

The timeline would fit with the reported production standstill. If invoices to suppliers remain unpaid, at some point components stop being delivered. Motorcycle production can then grind to a halt even without a formal plant closure.

In its clarification, MV Agusta does not comment on the 35 million euros, the alleged production standstill, or the outstanding supplier invoices. In the statement, the company only generally confirms that operational, industrial and financial difficulties exist.

The company confirms in the statement that Art of Mobility has been holding talks for several months about possible changes to the ownership structure. Some options are said to have been examined in depth and then discarded, while others are said not to have offered the necessary substance and reliability. Further talks and scenarios are still being evaluated.

From a well-informed source, we know that a Chinese manufacturer is said to have been willing to invest in MV Agusta on a significant scale and to provide a corresponding amount for its restructuring.

A letter of intent had reportedly already been signed and an industrial restructuring plan drawn up. However, following a conflict over the terms and implementation of this plan, the agreement did not materialize.

MV Agusta speaks of rumors and interpretations, some of which it says are not supported by objective evidence. However, the company does not reveal which specific statements are supposedly false.

Instead, MV Agusta confirms three central points: the company is struggling with operational and financial difficulties. Art of Mobility has held, and continues to hold, talks about changes to the ownership structure. And MV Agusta has entered the "Composizione Negoziata della Crisi", or CNC for short.

The CNC is neither insolvency nor liquidation. It is a legally regulated procedure in which an independent expert oversees negotiations with creditors, suppliers, banks and potential investors. Management basically remains in office. At the same time, protective measures can be requested to prevent creditors from taking action during the negotiations.

MV Agusta emphasizes that access to this procedure requires concrete restructuring prospects. That is true. But it should not be understood to mean that the restructuring is already secured. The CNC initially creates time and a structured framework. It does not replace capital, functioning supply chains, or production ramping back up.

The court decision on the protective measures scheduled for November 25 is therefore likely to become an important date. In addition, the current arrangement for the workforce expires at the end of December.

When I interviewed Luca Martin about MV Agusta's future around EICMA 2025, he painted a fundamentally different picture. Asked about the consequences of the split from KTM, he explained: "Operationally, nothing has changed." MV Agusta was independent, he said, had a development plan reaching beyond 2030, and had built up a stable dealer network.

From today's perspective, this statement is hardly tenable.

Even the official announcement of the full return to Art of Mobility from July 2025 stated that several operational functions would initially have to continue being run jointly with KTM due to the close interdependence. In the current press release, MV Agusta itself now admits that the split triggered a considerable transition phase. Processes, autonomy and the prerequisites for regulated operations would have to be restored step by step.

That is more than an organizational fine-tuning. It affects purchasing, logistics, dealer support, financing and apparently also industrial capacity to act. In hindsight, the claim that operationally nothing had changed was, at the very least, clearly too optimistic.

Particularly relevant for existing customers was Martin's announcement regarding spare parts supply. DHL was to take over global logistics and deliver spare parts within Europe in 48 hours and worldwide within 72 hours.

Current dealer reports paint a very mixed picture. Some dealers state that they have received hardly any spare parts or new motorcycles for months. This does not prove a widespread failure. But neither can one speak of a reliably functioning supply meeting the standard promised at the time.

What matters here is not only how capable the logistics provider is. DHL can only distribute the parts that MV Agusta procures, pays for and actually stocks. If suppliers do not produce or deliver due to unpaid invoices, even the best logistics partner cannot solve the problem.

In the interview, Luca Martin explicitly announced that from 2026 all MV Agusta models would be delivered with a five-year warranty.

The current official warranty information contradicts this blanket statement. There, the five-year manufacturer warranty applies to the Ottantesimo models, the F3 Competizione, the Enduro Veloce and the LXP Orioli. For all other models, a regular four-year factory warranty is still stated, which is nonetheless above the industry average.

This means that, at least according to the currently published status, this announcement has not been fully fulfilled. In the current financial situation, the warranty question also takes on additional significance. A long warranty is only a strong selling point if spare parts are available and the company or its distribution network can actually process claims in practice.

According to Martin's statements, the new Brutale 950 was meant to become MV Agusta's future bread-and-butter model. The new 931cc three-cylinder engine was subsequently supposed to be used in further variants.

The Brutale 950 Serie Oro was presented at EICMA 2025 as a 2026 model. In mid-September 2026, however, MV Agusta still lists the motorcycle on its own website as "Coming Soon". This does not prove that no units were produced at all. But it does show that the 950's relaunch, which is central to the brand's future, has not arrived on the market.

Should production actually have been at a standstill since April, it would have hit precisely the most important new platform right in the middle of its ramp-up phase. This would very quickly turn a financing problem into a product problem as well: development costs have already been paid, but revenue can only be generated once motorcycles are built and delivered.

The plans for the new five-cylinder engine reached even further into the future. Martin did not describe it as a mere study but as an ongoing project. The prototype phase was supposed to begin in 2026. The engine was intended as the basis for large naked bikes and superbikes.

So far there is no publicly verifiable new development status. That does not necessarily mean work has been halted. But given a formal restructuring process, apparently dormant production, and the search for fresh capital, it must be doubted that a technically extremely demanding five-cylinder engine currently has the highest priority.

A return to MotoGP from 2027 seems even less realistic. Martin had already qualified in the interview that no final decision had been made. The driving force behind the project was Hubert Trunkenpolz, who is no longer at the head of the supervisory board. A possible joint entry with a Chinese partner is said to have been part of the investor talks. Without a financially strong industrial partner, the project is likely dead for the time being.

MV Agusta counters the negative reports with its worldwide retail registrations. In the first half of 2026, 2,166 motorcycles were reportedly registered, up from 2,094 in the same period a year earlier. That corresponds to an increase of 3.4 percent. Italy grew by 28.8 percent to 644 motorcycles, France by 42.3 percent, and the USA by 24.2 percent.

These figures are positive but need to be correctly put into context. End-customer registrations are not the same as current production. Motorcycles that were built and delivered to dealers months earlier can also be registered for the first time in 2026.

Moreover, global growth amounts to just 72 motorcycles. Italy alone gained 144 units. Outside Italy, registrations therefore fell in total from 1,594 to 1,522 motorcycles, a decline of around 4.5 percent. The gains in France and the USA do not change the fact that the overall picture outside the home market was declining.

MV Agusta still has an extraordinary brand name, interesting motorcycles and, evidently, a loyal customer base. That is exactly what makes the recurring crises so frustrating. The brand's problem has rarely been a lack of appeal - quite the opposite, the entire workforce in Varese lives for this brand, something I experienced firsthand during my visit in 2024.

However, the current press release confirms the decisive core of the rumors: MV Agusta has financial and operational problems, is in a structured restructuring procedure, and is seeking a new solution for its ownership and capital structure.

Verifiable answers are now needed. Is production running? How many Brutale 950s have actually been built and delivered? What has happened to the promised capital increase? How high are the liabilities to suppliers? Is spare parts supply functioning? And which industrial plan is actually funded - not just presented?

In the interview, Luca Martin said MV Agusta stood on stable foundations. Nine months later, the company itself speaks of having to restore these foundations. That is the real substance of the clarification. Not all rumors are proven. But the crisis is.