Cycling Tire Manufacturer Vittoria Industries Invests In Italian Start-Up Zehus

Tire manufacturer Vittoria has "further broadened its investment pool with a stake in Milan’s Zehus," a maker of a power-assist bicycle hub, according to Mark Sutton of CYCLING INDUSTRY. The Italian start-up has "enjoyed strong early industry interest, already found specced as an OEM piece on bikes from the likes of Nolobi, among others." Suggesting that it anticipates the market for “smart wheel” to dramatically increase in the coming years, Vittoria’s investment was "made on the back of a forecast for demand in both established and emerging markets for efficient urban mobility." Zehus and Vittoria "will set up a new company (VZ Industries LTD) in Taiwan for the production of Zehus power units." The first Zehus hubs "will exit the new Taiwanese production line" in September. Vittoria has in recent times "been quite pro-active with its investments, pioneering the use of Graphene" in its tires last year with an exclusive Directa Plus arrangement (CYCLING INDUSTRY, 6/14).