Making an impact

Livestock breeding

In 2021, a traditional Dutch company becomes part of the Pon family: URUS. In the 1960s, Wijnand Pon, the younger brother of automotive pioneers Meindert and Ben Sr., founded the dairy farming company Koepon. Over the following decades, Koepon grows into a global player in the sector. In 2018, Koepon merges with a large cooperative, among others, to form URUS, the global leader in cattle genetics. In 2021, URUS becomes part of Pon Holdings. To continue its rapid growth, URUS welcomes CVC Capital Partners as a new majority shareholder in 2024, with Pon retaining a stake in the company.

Move Amsterdam

At the end of 2019, Move Amsterdam opens its doors: a multi-purpose building featuring a mobility experience for children, two restaurants (including one with a Michelin star), an event center, bike shop RideOut, a Swapfiets location, and Pon’s corporate center. Move is located right next to the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam. The 1930s building, originally designed as a car garage, showroom, and office complex, has national monument status.

Automotive in the US and industrial mobility

Pon makes moves in the American car market by acquiring indiGO Auto Group. indiGO is now active in California, Texas, Missouri, Colorado, and Arkansas, representing a range of mainly luxury brands, including Volkswagen Group brands familiar to Pon: Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Audi, and Volkswagen. Additionally, among its over 25 dealerships are brands such as BMW, McLaren, Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Ferrari.
Also, in 1996, a new cluster is formed: Industrial Mobility, which consists of three parts: Pon Material Handling, Pon Valve International, and Pon Asia. Between 2022 and 2023, the operating companies within the cluster are sold, and the cluster is dissolved.

Mobility as a service

Society demands a new perspective on mobility, and Pon increasingly develops into a comprehensive mobility provider. The portfolio is expanded step by step with innovative companies and services such as Greenwheels (Dutch market leader in car sharing), FietsNED (24/7 bicycle repair), Shuttel (mobility card), Hely (mobility hubs), Check (electric shared scooters), and Movelo (e-bike hubs). Later, through its own investment company Ponooc, Pon adds Swapfiets (bike subscriptions).

Pon goes back to bicycles

Back to basics: bicycles. Pon acquires the Netherlands’ most renowned bicycle brand, Royal Gazelle, followed by the German premium brands Kalkhoff and Focus. Pon thus becomes not only a distributor but also a manufacturer. Over the years, high-end brands Cervélo, Santa Cruz, and Juliana in the US, and the Amsterdam-based electric cargo bike manufacturer Urban Arrow, are added to the bike group, which is renamed Pon.Bike. Given global trends such as health and sustainability, bicycles are a logical choice.

Pon hits the road

In 2003, trading house Geveke becomes part of Pon, along with several European Caterpillar dealerships. Pon is already a Caterpillar dealer in the United States and wants to grow further in Europe. This leads to the creation of PEPP: Pon Equipment & Pon Power. After more than 20 successful years, Pon bids farewell to PEPP in 2024.

Expansion to North America

After exploring the American market for the Beetle in the 1950s, Pon sees new growth opportunities on the continent in the 1990s. With the establishment of Pon North America, headquartered in New York, various activities are added to the portfolio. Initially, the focus is on valves, telecommunications, and internal transport—activities that Pon later divests.

Expanding the fleet

Pon gradually adds other Volkswagen AG brands, later the Volkswagen Group, to its portfolio. After Audi (1974), SEAT (1986), and Škoda (1992), Bentley, Bugatti, and Lamborghini follow in 2012. Since 1980, Pon has also been the importer of truck and bus manufacturer MAN, a company that became part of the Volkswagen Group in 2011. With a focus on electric and hybrid vehicles, CUPRA is added to the Pon portfolio in 2021, followed in 2022 by representing the exclusive Croatian electric sports car brand Rimac in the Netherlands.

An icon

Shortly after World War II, the Netherlands is in reconstruction. Ben Pon Sr. knows that the need for mobility extends beyond passenger cars. Inspired by an internal transport vehicle he saw at the Volkswagen factory, he sketches a ‘truck’ in his agenda—a van based on the Beetle chassis. These are the first lines of the iconic Volkswagen Transporter T1, a van that has become a staple on Dutch roads since 1950. This sketch is part of the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Porsche

While Dutch streets are increasingly filled with Beetles, Pon notices a demand for more speed and luxury. In addition to the Beetle, Pon also imports the success story of Ferdinand Porsche’s son, the Porsche 356, becoming the world’s first Porsche importer. In 1961, the famous police Porsches appear on Dutch roads. Ben Pon’s son, Ben Jr., becomes Director of Porsche Netherlands in 1965. As an accomplished amateur racer, he had already been the face of the brand in the Netherlands.

Volkswagen

Thanks to good timing, a compelling story, and a touch of boldness, Pon becomes the world’s first importer of Volkswagen. Previously, cars were only for the elite, but the Volkswagen Beetle makes them accessible to a broader audience. Within a few years, Pon builds a network of more than 300 Volkswagen dealers throughout the Netherlands, some of which still work with Pon today.

Volkswagen also recognizes Pon’s market instincts and tasks the company with shipping the first Beetle to America to explore the market there.

From bicycles to cars

In addition to bicycles, the ‘automobile’ is becoming increasingly popular during this period. Pon also seizes this mobility transition by obtaining the exclusive import rights for Opel automobiles in the Netherlands in 1928. However, this agreement is short-lived due to the takeover of Opel by General Motors.

When Meindert’s sons Ben and Wijnand Pon join the family business, they establish Pon’s Automobile Trading and seek out new brands for trade. Despite the terminated contract, Pon maintains a good relationship with Opel. Through this connection, Ben and Wijnand meet Ferdinand Porsche, who is putting the final touches on his ‘car for the people’, the Beetle.

Sewing machines and bicycles

With more retail space, larger products can be sold. Around 1900, Meindert meets the growing demand for sewing machines and even bicycles, both supplied by the brand Opel. Through this trade, Pon plays a pioneering role in introducing the bicycle to the Netherlands, a phenomenon the country would later become famous for worldwide.

Start of Pon’s trading company

Mother Pon teaches her son Meindert the tricks of the trade as he helps out in the store. In 1895, at the age of 21, he takes over the business. It doesn’t take long before Meindert expands and opens a larger store around the corner. The business is renamed Pon’s Trading Company.

How it began…

The story begins in 1867 on the Groenmarkt in Amersfoort, where Gerarda Carolina Pon – Van den Burg runs a small grocery store together with her husband, Gerrit Pon, who is also a skipper. The store sells all kinds of goods, depending on what is needed at the time. The assortment ranges from pots and pans to seeds and tobacco.