Pedego, one of the most recognizable names from the early days of American e-bike brands, is entering a new era. The company has been acquired by the “US-based” ownership group behind the Asian e-bike brand Urtopia, a relatively young, tech-forward electric bike brand known for carbon fiber e-bikes with built-in connectivity and smart features. The result is a newly formed New Pedego Holdings Inc., which both companies are pitching not as a takeover, but as a reboot designed to modernize Pedego and rebuild the dealer network that once made it a retail powerhouse.
The new entity will be led by Pedego CEO Larry Pizzi, an industry veteran and longtime advocate for e-bike legislation. Pizzi says the partnership grew out of something very simple: Pedego dealers were already selling Urtopia bikes – and the company claims they were selling well. As he told BRAIN, “Fifty-eight dealers took on Urtopia and it was like magic,” noting that the sleeker, more futuristic Urtopia models pulled in a distinctly younger audience than Pedego’s traditional comfort-cruiser demographic that has long been popular with the more silver-haired crowd.
That complementary fit paved the way for a broader deal. Verlinvest, the Belgian investment group that bought Pedego in 2021, had already signaled its desire to exit earlier this year.
Pizzi spent months searching for a buyer before selecting Urtopia’s backers, calling the partnership a way to combine Pedego’s community-focused retail model with Urtopia’s engineering and manufacturing strengths.
According to the official announcement, Pedego gains access to Urtopia’s supply chain, lean manufacturing processes, and smart-bike technology – all of which the company says will significantly reduce production costs and bring a wave of new, lighter, more connected models starting in Spring 2026. The two brands will continue to operate distinctly, with Pedego stores selling Pedego bikes, Urtopia bikes, and a small number of approved third-party brands. Urtopia will keep selling online and through independent retailers in the US and Europe.
But one of the biggest storylines is dealer expansion. Pedego peaked at around 220 dedicated stores during the pandemic before shrinking to around 120 today. New Pedego Holdings plans to rebuild aggressively, forecasting a return to growth in 2026 with a goal of more than 500 US and Canadian retail locations within three years – a massive ramp-up that would reestablish Pedego as the largest dedicated e-bike retail network in North America.
Pedego hasn’t launched a new model in over a year and a half, but that drought is expected to end next year. If the Urtopia partnership delivers the innovation and efficiency the company promises, Pedego could be gearing up for one of the biggest comebacks in the e-bike industry. If not, this could be another Hail Mary to cap off a year of stunning falls from grace.
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