Savic Motorcycles
- Type: Retail
- Total Round Size (min): AUD$500,020
- Total Round Size (max): AUD$2,000,080
- Price per share: AUD$0.23
Savic Motorcycles
Savic Motorcycles has emerged as a progressive leader in Australia’s early efforts to become a global manufacturer of high-performance electric motorcycles. In 2021, the company was able to complete its first production prototype and expand its engineering and manufacturing workforces, following a successful capital raise that included a grant from the Australian Federal Government and a loan from the Victorian Government. Investors were keen to support the production of Australia’s first full-sized, high-powered e-motorcycle, together with Savic Motorcycles’ SM1 powertrain and battery pack – a robust platform technology that will deliver several series of world-class electric motorcycles.
The company was established in 2016 by Dennis Savic, a mechanical engineer originally from Perth, who worked for the Ford Motor Company during the day while pursuing his personal dream to design a future-ready electric motorcycle at night. After showcasing his first prototype at the 2018 Melbourne Moto Expo, Dennis set about building a 60kW vehicle from the ground up with designer Dave Hendroff and engineers Adrian Vinovrski and Kim Suandee. The work of this tenacious group soon attracted the support of several far-sighted investors and the ethical VC firm, Artesian Alternative Investments, which enabled them to secure a workshop and start building a multifaceted team backed by a panel of seasoned industry advisors.
In late 2022, Savic Motorcycles secured full ADR certification from the Australian Government, paving the way for commercial production of its first C-Series vehicles. The C-Series has already attracted considerable acclaim in its home country. Over the past two years, the prototype has featured in an exhibition of the world’s most influential motorcycles, been celebrated for its zero-carbon credentials by the Australian Museum, won two awards at the 2021 Australian Good Design Awards, and secured the top prize in the 2022 Victorian Premier’s Design Awards. One of our prototypes is currently on display at the Melbourne Now exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria.
- Fees Paid By Issuer: 6% of funds raised
- Cooling Off Period: 5 working days
- Security Type: Fully Paid Ordinary Shares
- Minimum Parcel: $500.02
Terms of Offer
Key Documents
In addition to your fully-paid Ordinary Shares, Savic Motorcycles is offering exclusive investor rewards as part of this CSF Offer. See section 3.2 of the Offer Document for further detail.
Investor Rewards
For investments between: $1,000 - $2,500
- Access to monthly exclusive behind-the-scenes content
- Investor pre-sales events on new apparel and motorcycle gear
- 5% discounts on Savic Motorcycles apparel and merchandise (valid 2 years)
- Branded helmet visor cleaner cloth
For investments between: $2,501 - $5,000
- Access to monthly exclusive behind-the-scenes content
- Investor pre-sales events on new apparel and motorcycle gear
- 5% discounts on Savic Motorcycles apparel and merchandise (valid 2 years)
- Branded helmet visor cleaner cloth
- Custom Savic Motorcycles C-Series hand-drawn poster print signed by Lead Designer Dave Hendroff
For investments between: $5,001 - $9,499
- Access to monthly exclusive behind-the-scenes content
- Investor pre-sales events on new apparel and motorcycle gear
- 5% discounts on Savic Motorcycles apparel and merchandise (valid 2 years)
- Branded helmet visor cleaner cloth
- Custom Savic Motorcycles C-Series hand-drawn poster print signed by Lead Designer Dave Hendroff
- Savic Motorcycles custom print Shareholder Edition T-shirt
- VIP access to ride events and product unveilings
For investments above: $9,500
- Access to monthly exclusive behind-the-scenes content
- Investor pre-sales events on new apparel and motorcycle gear
- 10% discounts on Savic Motorcycles apparel and merchandise (valid 2 years)
- Branded helmet visor cleaner clothCustom Savic Motorcycles C-Series hand-drawn poster print signed by Lead Designer Dave Hendroff
- Savic Motorcycles custom print Shareholder Edition T-shirt
- VIP access to ride events and product unveilings
- Savic Motorcycles Unisex Hoodie
- Free upgrade to Carbon Fibre Bodywork valued at $3,000 on any C-Series purchase (valid 2 years)
Investment Highlights
- Powertrain and Motor Technologies Developed In-House
Savic Motorcycles has sought to differentiate itself with innovative technologies developed in-house by its Australian design, engineering and software teams. This includes a proprietary motor and inverter system and a sophisticated lithium-ion battery, which is incorporated into a modular powertrain unit.
The custom vehicle software and cloud architecture (including IoT and data processing that collects over 100 data points every 0.1 seconds) provide the ‘brains’ of connected software systems that deliver critical data and enable over-the-air updates in real time. This ensures an unparalleled riding experience for customers, delivering a strategic competitive advantage over the company’s competitors.
- Fast-Growing Community of Riders and Enthusiasts
Savic Motorcycles has already built a loyal and committed community of more than 28,000 followers across its customer database and social channels. More than 250 riders have pre-ordered a C-Series motorcycle, with this list growing each month. The company believes that its unique D2C business model, its twin commitments to industry-leading performance and exceptional design, and its trusted connections with a growing family of fans, will ensure the creation of lifelong Savic Motorcycles customers.
- Robust Supply Chains and Strong Supplier Relationships
There are more than 350 components that make up an electric motorcycle, and even though our vehicles are relatively simple to put together and require little maintenance out in the field, significant supply-chain complexity confronts all potential EV manufacturers. Sourcing these components requires trusted relationships and agreements with dozens of suppliers globally, through carefully structured and technically intricate supply contracts. The Savic Motorcycles supply chain teams have taken a great deal of time and patient negotiation to establish, and represent a significant economic moat over potential competitors.
- Disruptive D2C Business Model
Savic Motorcycles is the only OEM in Australia that sell and distribute high-performance electric motorcycles directly to customers. Selling direct to customers breaks the industry and historical standard of manufacturers selling to distributors, who sell to retailers, who sell to customers. We believe that our model provides a unique opportunity to create stronger connections with our customers, deliver informed data to feed into future product development, and improve margins – while delivering a price-competitive solution for our customers.
- Multi-Award-Winning Design
The company’s philosophy is to design products that push the boundaries of the “norm”, while increasing public acceptance and adoption of light electric vehicles. This approach has helped Savic Motorcycles secure a number of awards in its short history, including two Australian Good Design awards and last year’s coveted Victorian Premier’s Design Award. With smart design being one of the most significant factors driving sales in the e-motorcycle market, this will continue to be a key focus through future product development.
- Experienced and Passionate Team
In just six years, Savic Motorcycles has been able to evolve a loyal and passionate team of seasoned professionals with a shared commitment to building a revolutionary EV brand. The team consists of personnel from Ford, Harley-Davidson, Triumph, Toyota and Bosch Rexroth, as well as a board of advisors that includes Formula One-winning engineers and Silicon Valley start-up founders.
- Significant Market Opportunity
The global motorcycle industry is massive and growing each year. In Australia alone, the market is worth over $1.1 billion, with a serviceable obtainable market estimated at over $60 million. With the entry-level C-Series Delta model starting at just $19,990 ride away, Savic Motorcycles’ mission is to provide competitively-priced, high-performance bikes that will put Australia on the global EV map. While the Australian market will be the company’s initial focus, it will then expand into New Zealand and the UK – and from there, a number of other countries in the European Union.
Our Products
For further detail on Savic Motorcycles unique hardware and software technology see section 2.3.4 of the Offer Document.
Design is one of the most significant factors driving sales in the market in which Savic Motorcycles operates. Our philosophy is to design ground-breaking products that push boundaries, while increasing the public’s acceptance and adoption of light electric vehicles.
The design brief for the C-Series was to design a powerful electric motorcycle that people would be comfortable with, but had never seen before. This has and will continue to carry through to future ‘blank sheet’ projects.
SM1 vehicles are the company’s high-performance electric motorcycles. Savic Motorcycles is best known for the trailblazing C-Series, which is one of the first full-scale, high-performance e-motorcycles in this market.
Under the company’s product development strategy, further SM1 vehicles will be announced in the Australian market in 2023-24. All SM1 vehicles will be assembled in Australia.
There are currently two C-Series models planned for release: the Alpha and the Delta.
In line with Savic Motorcycles’ commitment to innovation and in preparation for its next market launch, the company has successfully completed the engineering phase of a lower-cost, lower-powered product on an all-new production platform, SM2.
As the company continues to focus on delivering value to its customers and stakeholders, it will provide further updates on its product roadmap at appropriate intervals.
For further detail on Savic Motorcycles unique hardware and software technology see section 2.3.4 of the Offer Document.
Business Model
Savic Motorcycles’ business model is simple: design, manufacture and sell motorcycles in as much of a vertically integrated way as possible. This has two benefits. First, it enables the company to control more variables through the end-to-end process, from manufacturing through to customer experience. This level of control enables the leadership team to manage costs more effectively, ultimately ensuring they will turn profitable as soon as possible. The second benefit concerns the retention and ownership of all of the intellectual property (IP) developed by the company – not just in its products, but in each of its operational systems and supply chains.
The legacy motorcycle industry operates within traditional distribution networks and supply chains, which require Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to distribute their vehicles through distributors and retailers who then sell on to customers. This model has its benefits, but results in customers paying a premium for their bikes.
Along with its product innovation, Savic Motorcycles is looking to provide an alternative operating model to ensure that it can profitably scale and compete on the global stage. This will see the company provide a lean direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales model.
Savic Motorcycles designs all of its products in-house, leveraging its close and collaborative teams of vehicle, software and Quality Management System (QMS) engineers. All component manufacturing is outsourced to leverage cost efficiencies and consistency as the company scales. The C-Series electric motorcycles are designed in-house at the core facility in Melbourne, which currently has a capacity to produce up to 500 vehicles per year.
Drawing on successful examples of other automotive companies such as Tesla and the recently established Good Car Company in Australia, the Savic Motorcycles team has established strong logistic partnerships to ship its motorcycles directly to individual buyers. This approach offers a distinct advantage in the industry, as it fosters direct relationships with customers, leading to increased opportunities for building brand loyalty and a dedicated motorcycling community.
For further detail see section 2.5 of the Offer Document.
Growth Strategy
Long Term Vision
The vision for Savic Motorcycles is to be a global brand competing with the likes of Ducati, ultimately producing and selling 45,000 vehicles per annum. In order to achieve this target, the leadership team has developed a long-term strategy for staged growth in a number of carefully selected international markets.
This long-term growth strategy has been developed by emulating and learning from the evolution of several iconic global motorcycle brands as benchmarks. We anticipate achieving this overall vision in the following three phases, which are distinguished by specific production volumes and sales targets.
For further detail see section 2.6 of the Offer Document.
Phase 1 Objectives
In the short term, the company’s principal goals are to rapidly scale manufacturing and sales efforts in the Australian market, with a simultaneous focus on minimising production costs.
Investing in cost of goods reduction will mean that unit economics improve significantly, and the business turns profitable sooner rather than later. The current cost-reduction strategy has a target to achieve a gross margin of 43% and a net margin of over 22% by FY26, provided that the company obtains the necessary funding.
The company already has the capacity to produce 500 units p.a. and in time will look to scale this to a second Australian facility with a capacity of 5,000 units p.a. The management team has already drawn up concept floor plans for this material flow, and is ready to execute this strategy at the appropriate time.
To scale incoming vehicle sales, the marketing team has developed an omnichannel marketing strategy, as well as an event plan that will make test rides available to riders all over Australia. These rides will enable potential customers to try out their future vehicles, to meet other members of the Savic Motorcycles community, and to share feedback on the product, business and customer service – providing a flow of information that will also inform and improve future customer outreach.
Key Team
Dennis Savic
As the founder and CEO of Savic Motorcycles, Dennis has been instrumental in building the company and the operational team that exists today. Dennis has worked hard to develop the expertise to lead a progressive global organisation, completing a Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering, an MBA in Corporate Finance, and the AICD’s Company Directors course. An avid motorcyclist and an accomplished entrepreneur, Dennis has gained kudos across Australia and further afield for building an inspirational start-up and an exceptional motorcycle from the ground up.
Kel Kearns
For the past three years, Kel Kearns has been the CEO of Ford and Mazda’s JV manufacturing plant in Thailand. Kel has recently been reassigned to Ford’s home in the United States, where he is leading the design and commissioning of Ford’s Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) plant. With broad experience in establishing high-performance manufacturing facilities from a blank sheet of paper, Kel is a highly valuable asset to Savic Motorcycles’ leadership team.
Alexandra Bromley
A seasoned marketing professional, Alexandra (Ali) brings a wealth of experience from globally-renowned brands such as Porsche and Harley-Davidson to her role as a key member of the Savic Motorcycles leadership team. With a proven track record of coordinating successful events, optimising business performance, and leading high-performing marketing teams, Ali’s two decades of industry experience and her deep-seated passion for motorcycles enable her to drive business goals with exceptional results.
Jeremy Worthington
Savic Motorcycles’ CFO brings a rare combination of fiscal, engineering and strategic management expertise to the role. After a career as an automotive engineer with Nissan in the UK and consulting for Toyota in Japan, Jeremy spent eight years as a small business tax specialist with KPMG and PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Melbourne, before joining Savic Motorcycles as our dedicated CFO in early 2020.
Matthew James
Matt James has designed light rail trams in the UK, race-winning Aston Martin sports cars, and a scrambler version of the legendary Triumph Bonneville motorbike. Today, Matt fills the role of COO at Savic Motorcycles, where he oversees everything from our production strategy and factory layout, to supplier deliveries, quality management, and long-term operations planning.
Adrian Vinovrski
Having developed a mathematical model for the C-Series back in 2018, Adrian understands our pioneering motorcycle literally from the inside out. First brought onto the team as a powertrain engineer, Adrian was promoted to the CTO role in recognition of his deep technical expertise and his engineering oversight across every element of the bike’s electrical, motor control, and power-generating systems.
Financials
For further detail please see section 2.12 of the Offer Document.
Use of Funds
For further detail please see section 3.2 of the Offer Document.
Key Risks
Savic Motorcycles’ current capital raise is focused on ensuring there is sufficient inventory to commence initial production.
The company has detailed supply agreements in place with all critical component suppliers, to ensure consistency in pricing and production lead times.
The company has initiated a highly effective ESOP (Employee Share Option Plan) for the execution team, which in accordance with the shareholder agreement can be maintained at 10% of the fully diluted company.
The ESOP does not include the founder, as it is used exclusively to remunerate and motivate the highly passionate team. The founder has a majority stake in the company and has made significant personal investments to date.
There is a risk of new companies entering the market and undermining Savic Motorcycles’ competitive position, should there be further delays in the time to market.
The company has put in place a Direct-to-Customer (D2C) distribution model that allows it to be significantly more price competitive than all of its non-D2C competitors.
This capital raise will enable Savic Motorcycles to begin customer deliveries and simultaneously execute its cost reduction strategy, positioning the business to become a leader in the industry.
Every automotive company faces a risk of product recall. Rigorous internal testing processes have been developed to mitigate this risk.
The company has also decided to initiate a slow ramp to production to ensure that the cost of any recall is minimised at any one time.
In addition, the performance of individual Savic Motorcycles vehicles will be closely monitored via over-the-air and cloud-based systems.
The company’s main technology risk stems from its ground-breaking innovation across a large number of disparate components.
While the company has a robust durability testing plan that is currently being executed, the risks of technology and component failure are naturally proportionate to this high level of innovation.
That said, all of the C-Series’ external components are produced by highly reputable suppliers with established design and manufacturing processes, and all have undergone rigorous testing at the supplier / component level.
Savic Motorcycles’ core IP includes its:
- Brand,
- Vehicle aesthetic design, and
- Vehicle engineering design.
The brand is protected through registered trademarks, the aesthetic design through various design registrations, and the vehicle engineering design through trade secret and the company’s proprietary sourcing and production strategy.
The vehicle engineering design IP is also protected by the sourcing of components from more than 35 third-party suppliers in different countries, which are imported separately for in-house assembly and production.
Savic Motorcycles will require subsequent funding in addition to the current CSF raise in order to turn profitable and self-sustaining.
The purpose of the current CSF raise is to:
- Demonstrate that the company can produce and deliver products to customers, and
- Demonstrate that the unit economics are achievable
The realisation of these two objectives will enable the company to raise the additional working capital required to expand its production capabilities in Australia.