Every Motorcycle Brand Currently Owned By Ktm

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To put it mildly, Austrian bikemaker KTM has had a tumultuous past mates of years. Despite being highly successful successful motorsports for illustration MotoGP and nan Dakar rally, nan shaper of exotic bikes was precocious connected nan brink of insolvency, falling into a $2.3-billion indebtedness hole, partially owed to 265,000 unsold KTM bikes conscionable sitting around. Its Indian partner marque and shareholder, Bajaj Auto Limited, bailed it retired and is now successful nan process of taking power of KTM. 

KTM itself owns 2 other motorcycle brands, Husqvarna and GasGas. It also owns WP suspension, which is seen in each 3 brands' offerings. But earlier we get to these brands, let's quickly recap KTM's history and value successful nan two-wheeled world.

KTM started successful 1934 as a car and motorcycle repair shop successful a mini Austrian municipality called Mattighofen. Its founder, Johann Trunkenpolz, named it was named Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen (Kraftfahrzeug is simply a German connection meaning "motor vehicle"). Trunkenpolz launched KTM's first motorcycle, nan R100, successful 1953, utilizing rhythm parts manufactured in-house and an motor originated from Rotax. The pursuing year, businessman Ernst Kronreif bought into nan firm. His finance and engagement helped lead to KTM's success, and nan "Kraftfahrzeug" successful nan KTM sanction was changed to "Kronreif": Kronreif & Trunkenpolz Mattighofen.

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Despite initially trading small-capacity motorcycles, KTM tasted occurrence successful off-road racing events, and later on, nan iconic Paris Dakar rally (later known arsenic nan Dakar Rally), which it has won 20 times. KTM has besides won 5 Moto3 World Championships. But KTM ran into financial trouble, and  successful 1991 it declared bankruptcy. The adjacent year, Cross Holding (now Pierer Mobility AG) bought nan company, and owner-CEO Stefan Pierer, transformed nan struggling bikemaker into a respected sanction successful nan two-wheeled world. 

Since then, KTM acquired — and gotten free of — multiple brands. In 1995, it bought Husaberg, a Swedish bikemaker known for its two- and four-stroke enduro, motocross, and supermoto motorcycles. However, KTM discontinued nan marque successful 2014 after purchasing nan Swedish motorcycle marque Husqvarna from BMW nan erstwhile year. After all, it made small consciousness to support Husaberg astir erstwhile Husqvarna had been astir acold longer. (A brace of erstwhile Husqvarna engineers had established Husaberg in 1988, aft nan Cagiva group took complete Husqvarna. But nan Husqvarna sanction dates to 1689 arsenic a shaper of guns, and it started making motorcycles successful 1903.) 

In 2019, KTM acquired Spanish motorcycle marque GasGas, a niche dirt-bike marque known for its off-road and tests motorcycles. (GasGas presently makes 1 of the fastest ungraded bikes that are afloat thoroughfare legal.) In 2024, KTM's genitor company, Pierer Mobility, besides concisely held a controlling liking successful Italian exotic bikemaker MV Agusta.

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While KTM's determination to get other motorcycle brands that likewise attraction connected off-road sports — alternatively of diversifying into different branches of motorcycling — mightiness look misguided, it's meant arsenic a strategical move. KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas motorcycles stock a batch of parts. A bully illustration is nan KTM 450 SX-F, Husqvarna FC 450, and GasGas MC 450F, which stock nan aforesaid framework and powerfulness train. Platform sharing leads to immense costs savings successful investigation and development, arsenic good as manufacturing.

Another illustration of nan bikemaker's strategical readying is KTM's acquisition of WP suspension successful 2017. The premium suspension marque is offered successful KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas motorcycles. And KTM's genitor company, Pierer Mobility, owns half of Kiska, nan creation patient responsible for nan unique creation of each 3 brands' modern motorcycles.

The strategical business pinch Bajaj Auto that began successful 2007 has immensely helped KTM produce small-capacity KTM and Husqvarna motorcycles. That has made the coolest beginner motorcycles cheaper for world markets and made KTM, successful nan words of Bajaj CEO Raviv Bajaj (via CNBC TV 18), "not conscionable nan largest motorcycle shaper successful Europe successful nan premium segment, but nan number 1 premier motorcycle shaper successful nan world."