Husky for sale

[takitimu]

Sounds like ktm will buy husky and all husky dev stopped last year.

It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out and whether ktm keep the husky brand separate.

[ktm84mxc]

So that's what KTM are doing with the Indian rupees they've got, not a bad move Husky's will have WP forks and shocks etc to start with.
Next they'll be assembled in India . will there be a new NZ distributor in the future?

[Dragon]

Was disapointed clearly I didnt get the reference I thought this was about Dogs

[HenryDorsetCase]

that Duke 390 is a nice looking bike.

[takitimu]

So that's what KTM are doing with the Indian rupees they've got, not a bad move Husky's will have WP forks and shocks etc to start with.
Next they'll be assembled in India . will there be a new NZ distributor in the future?

Seems to me how ktm do it makes sense, which is a single australasian distributor, but I doubt that issue would be high on their list of priorities for the first 12 months .

[scott411]

looks like its not KTM, but one of thier owners, intersting times for sure,

http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/rumo...+%26+Rubber%29

[takitimu]

looks like its not KTM, but one of thier owners, intersting times for sure,

http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/rumo...+%26+Rubber%29

The guy who turned KTM around no less, maybe Husky is his next turnaround target now KTM are moving to Indian ownership.

[Jay GTI]

Maybe they'll finally drop the BMW inherited oddness and build more bikes like the TE310.

[scott411]

From Reuters:

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The owner of offroad motorbike maker KTM (Stuttgart: 726812 - news) acquired rival brand Husqvarna (Other OTC: HSQVY - news) from Germany's BMW (Xetra: 519000 - news) on Thursday in a consolidation move that helps shave costs as the industry copes with a slump in Europe.

Entrepreneur Stefan Pierer, who owns a majority stake in KTM, told Reuters he was taking a page out of Volkswagen (Other OTC: VLKAY - news) 's book by buying the Italian-based company, whose one-cylinder enduros and motocross bikes are dubbed "Huskies" by their fans.

"Almost ten years ago we started a small platform strategy just like what Volkswagen does on a far larger level," he said in a telephone interview after the deal, declining to provide financial details.

"Even though this is a niche business, you have the same problem as in the car industry. Development costs for modern, sporty motorcycles are so high - especially for engines - that a small brand (like Husqvarna) can no longer shoulder them on its own."

Pierer's KTM also owns the Husaberg, a Swedish brand founded by two engineers in 1988 after Husqvarna motorcycle moved its operations to Italy from its Scandinavian home.

"I want to see Husqvarna sales double in five years time to 20,000 motorbikes," he said, adding that his immediate focus would be on rejuvenating the ageing line-up of offroad models.

Instead of fully integrating both companies, Husqvarna and KTM will be managed separately, while reaping the benefits of using common components.

"This way we can use common engineering platforms to develop a variety of models that have completely different characteristics for each brand," Pierer said.

Husqvarna generated roughly 65 million euros selling roughly 10,000 bikes, he said, while KTM sold 107,000 motorcycles with revenue of 612 million euros.

In a rare acquisition, BMW scooped up Husqvarna at the peak of the market in 2007 to improve its position in the field of light, sporty motorbikes and extend the range to include younger customer groups as well as the entire off-road and supermoto sector.

The market in Europe, however, has shrunk almost by half since the deal, and BMW never attained sustained growth of the business in the face of such harsh headwinds.

BMW said it was selling the brand as part of a strategic realignment of its motorcycle business to focus on urban and electric mobility "in the context of changing motorcycle markets, demographic trends and increasing environmental demands."

KTM by comparison has a strong position in the segment in which Husqvarna competes, with roughly 30 percent of the global market share in motocross and 50 percent in enduro, according to Pierer.

When asked whether he was concerned the two brands might cannibalise each other's sales, he admitted there would be a slight effect.

Overall, however, the Husqvarna brand would help it take share away from Honda , Yamaha , Kawasaki and Suzuki .

"It's never 1 plus 1 equals 3, but it's certainly 2.7, and there are still four Japanese brands from which there's plenty to grab."

[scott411]

it will be interesting to see what happens here, i think you could bet that very soon Huskies will have WP suspension, but it will be interesting to see how far it goes, do they go right down to what they have done with Husaberg and make KTM's with a slightly different spec and different colours, (that did not work very well when kawasaki and suzuki did it in the 2000's)

[takitimu]

it will be interesting to see what happens here, i think you could bet that very soon Huskies will have WP suspension, but it will be interesting to see how far it goes, do they go right down to what they have done with Husaberg and make KTM's with a slightly different spec and different colours, (that did not work very well when kawasaki and suzuki did it in the 2000's)

It'll be interesting, I don't see a third market there without more than plastics & upgraded suspension, they are already clashing 6 day vs husaberg, adding Husky in there would be chaos.

It kinda sounds to me like it'll be KTM motor/suspension with maybe Husky frame/plastics & potentially tuning, which would make alot of sense, the Husky frame does handle different to the KTM, so maybe you end up with KTM/KTM 6 Day/Husaberg all PDS then Husky Linkage & a frame not quite so quick turning, but more stable in a straight line.

Now if they could take the husky clutch tech over to ktm to stop the damn things overheating that would be awesome .