According to a Bajaj Auto press release, this enlargement of the cooperation to the Husqvarna Motorcycles brand will elevate the partnership between Bajaj and KTM to the next level. At present, KTM product lines Duke 125 – 390 and RC 125 – 390 are produced in Bajaj´s production facility in Chakan and are distributed by the two partners globally.
Stefan Pierer, CEO of KTM AG and Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director of Bajaj Auto Ltd., decided on the strategy to take Husqvarna Motorcycles brand global and scale up the business multiple times. The first models, Vitpilen 401, Svartpilen 401 and Vitpilen 701 will be produced in Mattighofen, Austria, and launched in early 2018. Later in 2018, the Vitpilen 401 and Svartpilen 401 production for the global markets will be transferred to Bajaj’s Chakan factory.
With this, the number of KTM and Husqvarna branded motorcycles, produced in India, will increase from expected 100,000 in 2017 to over 200,000 units in the next few years
Husqvarna Motorcycles, founded in 1903, is the world’s second oldest motorcycle brand, for which KTM has secured a long-term license agreement in the year 2013. After its new positioning, the volumes have sharply gone up to an all-time high with over 30,000 units sold in 2016.