Black Tea Motorbikes under preliminary Insolvency Administration
Source: SteckerBiker / THE PACK News | “It’s a sad day again for the electric motorbike industry – and for entrepreneurship more broadly. Every time one of these stories breaks, it’s a reminder of just how hard it is to build a hardware company from scratch in this space. I have deep respect for entrepreneurs like Viktor Sommer, who take that risk and put everything into building something new.” – Guy Salens, THE PACK Global.
Munich-based electric motorcycle manufacturer Black Tea Motorbikes has entered preliminary insolvency proceedings. On July 14, 2026, the Munich District Court ordered preliminary insolvency administration over Black Tea Motorbikes GmbH, appointing Munich lawyer Florian Loserth as preliminary administrator. His task is to assess the company’s financial situation, secure its remaining assets, and determine whether continued operation or restructuring is possible. Formal insolvency proceedings have not yet been opened. (Das Verbraucherschutzforum)
What the order means in practice for ongoing operations, outstanding orders, open repairs, and spare parts supply is not yet known. THE PACK’s German partner outlet SteckerBiker contacted Black Tea Motorbikes for comment; the company had not responded by publication time.
Last production update pointed to mounting problems
The most recent detailed update from Black Tea Motorbikes came on March 21, 2026, when founder and CEO Viktor Sommer posted a video update. He described delays with storage and charge tanks, missing chargers, late wiring harnesses, and – most significantly – difficulties sourcing the new battery packs for the 2026 model year Bonfire and Wildfire.
To let customers start the season regardless, BTM planned to initially ship motorcycles with older or used batteries, with a later swap to the batteries customers had actually ordered. CBS versions were targeted for delivery from April; the planned ABS models faced possible delays on both homologation and battery supply.
One detail from that update stands out in hindsight: customers who had only put down a deposit were asked to transfer the remaining balance ahead of delivery, so BTM could pay for pre-ordered batteries in full and speed up their arrival. In retrospect, that points to tight liquidity as early as March, though it isn’t proof on its own.
The monthly production updates BTM had promised did not continue after that. It is currently unclear how many of the announced motorcycles were ultimately delivered.
Owners and pre-order customers voice concern
Unease had been building in the community even before the insolvency proceedings became public. Several users on the Elektroroller-Forum reported being unable to reach Black Tea Motorbikes by phone, email, or WhatsApp for a period, while others said they’d had contact with the company as recently as early July. (Elektroroller-Forum.de)
Since the insolvency order became public, customers have come forward saying they paid in full for a Wildfire but have not received it. Others are waiting on repairs, retrofits, or parts sent in for service. Forum posts also describe cancelled orders for ABS retrofit kits. These accounts come from individual affected customers and have not been independently verified.
Beyond the financial worries, a practical question is now moving to the front: how will motorcycles already on the road be serviced and repaired long-term? Some owners have begun archiving manuals, wiring diagrams, videos, and supplier information, while others are offering to share their own fixes and parts sources within the community.
From university project to German manufacturer
Black Tea Motorbikes traces back to 2019, when Viktor Sommer built an electric café racer as a university project. Black Tea Motorbikes GmbH was founded in June 2020, and a subsequent crowdfunding campaign raised more than €600,000 toward developing and homologating the Bonfire. Series production of that first model began in 2021.
The Bonfire leaned heavily on components and design principles from combustion motorcycles. That relatively simple construction – a hub motor, removable batteries, and a large share of off-the-shelf parts – made it easy to understand and comparatively easy to repair. Black Tea Motorbikes itself has said it drew extensively on combustion-motorcycle parts during development.
The Wildfire marked a considerably bigger step for the small Munich company: a purpose-built platform with an unusual riveted stainless-steel frame made of complex bent panels, with no conventional welds. Development finished in 2024 and the bike reached the market in 2025. In doing so, BTM achieved something many other start-ups have failed to: developing, homologating, producing, and actually delivering a completely new electric motorcycle to customers.
SteckerBiker / THE PACK’s take
Black Tea Motorbikes has come a long way – from a university project and a single prototype to a German electric motorcycle manufacturer. After the Bonfire, which still leaned heavily on a design intended for combustion motorcycles, the small Munich team managed something harder with the Wildfire: developing, homologating, and actually bringing a completely new vehicle platform to the road.
But the market around it has gotten tougher. The Honda WN7 is now a direct competitor priced not far from a well-equipped Wildfire. Its battery is somewhat smaller, but CCS fast charging, cornering ABS, traction control, a liquid-cooled drivetrain, and a major manufacturer’s dealer and service network make it feel considerably more mature – and it’s also offered in an 11 kW version for A1 license holders.
The A1 and 11 kW electric motorcycle segment is simply far more competitive today than when BTM’s story began, while development, sourcing, homologation, and production have all gotten more expensive. That leaves little room for a small manufacturer to absorb rising costs without raising prices.
What happens next for Black Tea Motorbikes isn’t clear yet. Preliminary insolvency administration doesn’t automatically mean the end of a company – other electric motorcycle manufacturers have gone through insolvency, ownership changes, or major restructuring and come out the other side.
For existing owners, at least, BTM’s own philosophy may work in its favor now. The company was relatively open about the components it used, relied heavily on standard parts, and built its bikes to be modular and accessible – which improves the odds that the community can organize repairs, parts sourcing, and technical fixes going forward.
Our thoughts are with BTM’s riders, pre-order customers, Viktor Sommer, and the whole team. We hope this insolvency proceeding turns out to be a difficult chapter the company can work through. Black Tea Motorbikes brought color, independence, and a personal touch to the electric motorcycle market – we’d miss it if it disappeared.
If you prefer to read the original (German) article from our media partner SteckerBiker / THE PACK News, here is the link: