Autoblog

Husqvarna sold to KTM CEO Stefan Pierer

Jonathon Ramsey — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 08:29:00 EST

A couple of days ago the UK's Motorcycle News reported that BMW was in the final stages of selling Husqvarna to KTM, with a deal potentially confirmed as soon as this week. Following that came reports that Husqvarna Motorcycles wasn't sold to KTM but to a Pierer Industries, the company owned by KTM CEO Stefan Pierer. Turns out the advance report was true, as was the follow-up: BMW has just announced a "strategic realignment" of its Motorrad division, explaining that it sold Husqvarna to Pierer Industries in order to focus on the urban and e-mobility segments. Husqvarna's off-road machines, obviously, don't fit into those categories.

BMW bought the Italian-based bike maker with centuries-old Swedish roots in 2007 - the rest of the Husqvarna company remains based in Sweden - and has invested huge sums to integrate the smaller company into the larger parent. Six years later, just when dividends should begin to truly pay off, the brand is sold.

Before BMW made its announcement, one of the theories that forum members put forward for Pierer's interest in purchasing Husqvarna was that he wants his own business to run his own way. The parent company of KTM, Cross Industries, is 47.27-percent owned by India's Bajaj Automotive, with Pierer the majority shareholder, and is on a quest for global growth, taking the fight to BMW in Europe and launching new bikes and technology into the Indian market. Compared to BMW's and KTM's 2012 sales of around 100,000 bikes each in 2012, Husqvarna sold 10,751 bikes, which was a 15.7-percent increase over the previous year. Pierer would have a lot more freedom in the running of a company of that size.

Now that the sale has been confirmed, ruminations will turn to issues like whether Pierer steps down from his position at KTM, what will become of the sub-brand Husaberg if Pierer doesn't step down and how Husqvarna and KTM might cooperate no matter what Pierer does.

In the press release from BMW below, along with urban and e-mobility initiatives the German firm says it will expand its interests in "core segments from the 650 single-cylinder entry-level bike to the six-cylinder luxury tourer." The sale is pending approval from European anti-trust authorities.

Continue reading Husqvarna sold to KTM CEO Stefan Pierer

Husqvarna sold to KTM CEO Stefan Pierer originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 01 Feb 2013 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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KTM working on more conventional X-Bow with doors, windscreen

Noah Joseph — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 18:31:00 EST

Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Europe, MISC

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You could call the KTM X-Bow a great many things, but "practical" is not one of them. That could be changing - if ever so slightly - in the near future, however, if the latest reports are anything to go by.

Speaking with the blokes over at Top Gear, KTM chief exec Stefan Pierer admits his company is working on a version of the hardcore track car with actual doors, a windscreen and removable roof panels. We're dying to know how Team KTM will stick a lid on the X-Bow's angular close-coupled sheetmetal without looking like a crumpled mess. Will the hardtop X-Bow lose its cycle fenders in favor of a more traditional closed-wheel design, too?

We're told to look out for the X-Bow GT, or whatever they call it, around March 2013 - less than a year from now.

KTM working on more conventional X-Bow with doors, windscreen originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 12 Jun 2012 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Magna Steyr tapped to build more KTM X-Bows than expected

Frank Filipponio — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 16:32:00 EST

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Supercars

click above image to view 113 images of the KTM X-Bow

We just got word that KTM has decided to switch builders for its grown-up go-kart, the X-Bow. This 1,500-pound, 300-hp track day special is set to launch next February with an initial, special-edition run of 100 units. It was originally anticipated that 100 would be the total number of units sold per year, so Dallara had been tabbed to produce them. But with 600 firm orders in hand, KTM has turned to Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik instead. KTM head Stefan Pierer explained that switching to Magna Steyr allows production to get up to speed more quickly because of their larger capacity available right off the bat. And if that 600-order figure doesn't seem impressive, KTM now has hopes to eventually reach 1,000 units annually.

No mention of a drop in price accompanied the announcement, but if KTM were asking $55,000 based on 100 units sold, we suspect 1,000 units might mean a lower pricetag in the future. Even at $55,000, however, the X-Bow remains something of a bargain, with a power-to-weight ratio of just 5.13 lbs/hp. Some supercars can't match that figure, and few come close at this price outside of the obvious rivals like the Ariel Atom, Caterham, etc. It would be interesting to see new racing classes over the next few years with all of these no-frills vehicles - the Lotus 340R, Deronda F and others going cycle-fendered wheel to wheel.

[Source: Gizmag]

Gallery: KTM X-Bow

Magna Steyr tapped to build more KTM X-Bows than expected originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 Apr 2007 16:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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