KTM to manufacture Husqvarna in Bajaj's Chakan facility in 2 yrs

Austrian bike maker is also gearing up to launch a sports model that will hit the market by the end of next year

Austrian sports motorcycle maker KTM Sportmotorcycles AG today said it plans to manufacture Husqvarna bikes at partner Bajaj Auto’s (BAL) Chakan facility in the next two years.

 

Stefan Pierer, chief executive officer, KTM Sportmotorcycles AG said, “Our current focus is KTM bikes, but in the next two years you will see the Husqvarna bikes coming from the Chakan plant.”

In January this year, Pierer, who owns a majority stake (52%) in KTM, had acquired Husqvarna from Germany's BMW.

 

The Austrian bike maker is also gearing up to launch a sports model under KTM RC series that will hit the market by the end of next year. "KTM has developed a full-fledged sports model under the brand RC. We will launch it by the end of next year”, informed Rajiv Bajaj, managing director, BAL. The RC series will have more than one engine capacity and it will be manufactured at BAL's Chakan plant.

 

Overall, KTM plans to have six models on road in India over the next two years. Pierer said KTM may also bring its Duke 690 model to India by 2015.

 

In 2007, BAL had acquired 14.5 per cent stake in KTM and gradually increased it to 48 per cent. The two companies had joined hands to develop products and use the Indian firm's units for manufacturing.

 

Under the KTM range, the partners sell Duke 200 and Duke 390 in India, while Duke 125 produced in India is exported to Europe.