Inside story: how KTM group is going from strength to strength
KTM have enjoyed a stellar year – but the brand is just one of a growing empire for Stefan Pierer. So what does the future hold?
In so far as there can ever be an upside to a pandemic, the motorcycle industry is one of the few sectors experiencing rapid growth. Leading this charge among European companies is the KTM Group, whose parent company PMAG/Pierer Mobility AG increased their sales forecast for the second half of 2020 to ‘over €850m’ – 10% more than the same period in 2019 – with total sales expected to surpass €1.45 billion, despite a two-month shutdown from mid-March to mid-May.
The group now comprises KTM, Husqvarna and GasGas in terms of established bike brands, but CEO Stefan Pierer has his eyes firmly fixed on growth and new models. So what is on the horizon? Motorcycling journalist Alan Cathcart finds out…
What’s been the biggest impact of the pandemic?
Stefan Pierer The most important outcome of the Corona crisis is that the powered two-wheeler is making a hard comeback for short-distance commuting. This begins with the electric bike, grows strongly in the small displacement 125 to 400cc category, and goes even up to 800900cc. Sales of the big displacement models above that are all flatlining for us – they’re stable, but all the others have double-digit growth. Look at Germany: there, in September alone we sold almost 1000 125s. Can you imagine it? One thousand new customers, and so many car drivers making the transfer to two wheels – the total market was up around 45% there, and we saw a 90% increase to become the market leader. Nobody wants to use public transportation if they can help it, so PTWs especially are benefiting, because of the jams caused by people taking the car instead of the bus. So I can’t help but have an optimistic outlook. Not so long ago I was very concerned that there were so many restrictions for licences applicable to motorcycles and that the young generation was looking to other devices to spend their money on. But it’s bouncing
‘I must be honest and say Covid has been a help, not a hindrance’
back – and I must be honest and say that Covid is the key to this. It’s been a help, not a hindrance.
Wasn’t this was your main objective 10 years ago when you began the collaboration with Bajaj to build an affordable range of 125cc motorcycles in India for younger riders?
Yes, and today KTM’s position in the kids’ sector is outstanding, so it worked! But the 390 platform has worked, too - not everybody wants to ride a scooter, so for sporty commuting the 390 is a serious motorcycle. You can ride it to work throughout the week, and then on the weekend you do leisure and sport riding with it – just having fun. But what’s also very interesting is that especially in North America and Australia the off-road motorcycle is booming - it’s crazy, our dealers are selling out of stock as soon as each new shipment arrives. In my opinion that’s also a factor of the crisis. We Europeans, we got locked down and can’t go anywhere, but they’re exploring their huge countries on a motorcycle. It’s the ultimate selfisolation tool, complete with smart distancing, a helmet instead of a mask, everything that’s needed.
Have you managed to bounce back with production post-shutdown? So far we got back almost half of the 30,000 units of missing production we lost when we closed on March 16 until May 11 when we restarted, and we’ve tried to increase our capacity as much as we can since then. We’ve already added around 180 more assembly workers here in Mattighofen, but we’re looking for
‘The powered two-wheeler is making a hard comeback’