In addition to operating the Sixt network in Greece, Motodynamics S.A. is also the country’s official importer of Yamaha Motor Co. and Porsche AG products. CEO Paris Kyriacopoulos details the company’s dynamic evolution.

Q: How has Motodynamics evolved over time?
The first few years we focused on surviving. We became profitable in 2018, and after that, we found the opportunity to work with Sixt. The country was growing despite the COVID pandemic and we emerged as a different company: bigger, with more capital and profitability. Last year, we reached €196 million in revenue. After moving beyond the survival phase and establishing a path for sustainable growth, we shifted our focus to the company brand.  

Q: What is your long-term vision for the company?
As a company we aim to provide sustainable mobility without boundaries. We do not make a product or service that is fully our own; rather, we represent extraordinarily strong brands. Those brands share a focus on adventure and human connection – and that’s exactly what we want our customers to experience. Our work is to connect our brands to our customers and ensure they receive maximum brand promise and experience while growing the customer base. 

Q: What is special about the Motodynamics business model?
We are already a very trusted company despite our size, which is small for a global player. We operate as if it were a much bigger company and are also very transparent about our governance and work. We are growing into our processes and systems, with everything in place for when the company reaches stability and its full scale. We have designed it with room to grow. 

Q: How can you ensure growth is manageable?
We were an exceedingly small company, but we obtained the Sixt franchise and were able to create a partnership with Yamaha and Porsche without having a long-standing relationship. Our focus is on profitable growth; our company has achieved over 20% return on invested capital in the last four years. That 20% is sustainable because it means we can deploy capital efficiently and effectively while achieving growth at the same time.  

Q: How do brand partners like Sixt help drive this growth?
Our collaboration with Sixt is exceptionally constructive, as it provides a network of dealerships that gives us access to a baseline of cars to buy, repair and sell. Toyota has been the number one car brand in Greece for over 25 years, and these customers rely on their vehicles for daily life. The same applies to our Yamaha customers, some of whom rely solely on their two-wheelers to get around. 

Q: Why does Motodynamics appeal to investors from Germany?
Investors from Germany will recognise the brands we represent, and we maintain strong relationships with both Stuttgart and Munich; 25,000 German customers every year come to Greece and rent from Sixt. If you believe in the future of Sixt and Porsche, as an investor, there are other ways you can contribute aside from buying shares. We are accustomed to maintaining high-calibre standards, including in the management of investors’ capital. 

Q: How important is Motodynamics’ reputation as a good place to work?
We are honoured to be recognised by various organisations for how we do business. Awards are important, but they do not change our perspective on what we need to be doing. The ‘Best Place to Work’ award is a valuable initiative because being a good employer is not an option; it is a core part of a company’s promise.

Q: How do these accolades help you model new workplace standards?
Work is evolving across the world, and we need to evolve with it, particularly in embracing flexibility and a skills-based approach. I am immensely proud of the work that we do because it sets a benchmark for other companies that do not follow the same ideology and philosophy. This is how we will make Greece and Europe a better place.

Q: What is your approach to sustainability?
Sustainability has been important to us for years. The issue is that people think profitability and sustainability do not work together. But the only time contradictions arise is if the government is not doing its job. If you are generating profits and at the same time destroying the environment, then they are not real profits, just a transfer of wealth from the many to the few. Profit is generating value, and that means it must be sustainable. We are lucky to represent brands that feel the same as us regarding sustainability, and it is an important part of how we select our brands.

Q: What about the shift to EV usage?
We operate in a global environment, and we must adhere to global standards. While we cannot switch to selling only electric vehicles overnight, we must take meaningful steps in that direction. NIO is a start-up, but its products and technology are amazing. We believe in the brand and its promise, which is why we pursued this deal – to build this long-term EV relationship early on.

Q: How are your professional experiences influencing Motodynamics’ progress?
I had the opportunity to experience diverse cultures after being in San Francisco, Austria and Germany. The greatest impact has been recognising that there are diverse paths to growth and profitability. I have recently engaged more with Asia, which brings an entirely different set of business cultures. This exposure has helped me draw from the best ideas, adapt them and shape my own philosophy and perspective.

Q: How do you prioritise innovation?
Organisations need to be innovative. It is easy to get caught up in urgent daily issues, which can distract from focusing on what truly needs to be done for the future. Generative AI is impacting everyone, and part of our job is to take a step back and figure out how it can be used for the business moving forward. To do that, we must trust the people on the front line to hold the fort every day.

Q: What lies ahead?
There are investment opportunities in Greece in both public and private markets ready for a high calibre of investment professionals and entrepreneurs. We want to see the German economy recover and evolve, but that will only happen if connections across Europe strengthen and the European market becomes more unified.