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The 67-year-old KTM CEO Stefan Pierer has made the “global brand” KTM great with the slogan “READY TO RACE” and has been beating the advertising drum at GASGAS in recent years with the motto “GET ON THE GAS”.
The traditional off-road brand Husqvarna (Pierer acquired it from BMW in 2012) also quickly flourished and achieved record sales figures thanks to its extensive motorsport activities.
However, since the spring of 2024, the Pierer Group has suffered a number of severe setbacks and has had to revise its economic forecasts for the current financial year downwards several times.
The motorcycle manufacturer from Upper Austria has already significantly reduced its motorsport budget for 2025 and has financially strong strategic partners worldwide in the form of the major Indian shareholder Bajaj and the Chinese motorcycle manufacturer CFMOTO (2024 Moto3 World Champion with David Alonso in the Aspar-Martinez team).
Painful restructuring is underway in Mattighofen and Munderfing. Hubert Trunkenpolz, member of the board of KTM AG and CEO of MV Agusta Motor, comments on some controversial issues in an exclusive interview with GPone.com. This is the second part.
The Pierer Group is withdrawing Husqvarna and GASGAS from road racing. Does this mean that the original plan to possibly bring MV Agusta into MotoGP as a separate brand in 2027 is off the table for the time being?
"These ideas have been put on the back burner for the time being. As you know, one of my main tasks is as CEO of MV Agusta. It's about restructuring MV Agusta, it has absolute priority. Only when the MV plant is ready for the future can we think about other projects. In terms of production, our restructuring at MV is already very advanced. It's already going quite well. The dealer network is also growing and thriving, and new registrations and sales are also increasing. These are facts. But there is still a lot to do at MV Agusta. By 2016 at the latest, we will be producing significantly more than 6000 MV Agusta motorcycles in Varese. We have planned just under 5000 machines for 2025."
What mistakes at the Pierer Group have led to this financial dilemma? Was there too much focus on maximum growth during the Covid era?
"Yes, of course. Back then, we received huge amounts of ordered material from the suppliers, which was of course processed into motorcycles. It was even worse with bicycles. First there were delivery bottlenecks, then everything was delivered at the same time. As a result, excess stocks were produced, which could no longer be sold to the extent hoped for and expected after coronavirus. This situation led to excess stocks at the retailer and at our company. We now have to counteract this problem by reducing these stocks. In other words, we are producing less and helping retailers to empty their stocks. "
And the increase in production from around 160,000 to 200,000 motorcycles in Austria has also led to quality defects?
"These quality defects actually already happened during the Corona period, when we were sometimes supplied with faulty parts. Back then, we had to keep taking motorcycles off the production line because some part was missing, often just a detail, for example a sensor. The motorcycle was later put back on the production line. But these issues are completely off the table, these defects have been eliminated."
The Pierer Group builds all motorcycles up to 400 cc at Bajaj in India or at CFMOTO in China. However, some customers have reservations about bikes from China.
"In my view, that's nonsense. It's not about where the motorcycles are built, it's about what the motorcycle stands for and what quality and performance it has. We live in a globalized world. At CFMOTO, we also produce primarily for the domestic market in China."
Pierer Mobility AG has never sold motorcycles with more than two cylinders and has insisted on a platform strategy for all three Group brands - following the example of the VW Group with brands such as Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Seat, Cupra and Skoda. But GASGAS is not as renowned a brand as Seat or Skoda or even VW and Audi.
"Yes, that's why we are also sharpening the brand profiles as part of the restructuring. KTM will once again have a stronger presence in motorsport. KTM's image will be strengthened even further with our slogan “Ready to Race”. You will see more Orange in the paddocks around the world again. At GASGAS we will concentrate more on the young target group. And at Husqvarna, the off-road sports sector will be more in focus again in the future. Husqvarna has an excellent reputation in the off-road sector, especially in America. It would make no sense to give that up. But there will be no more road racing with Husqvarna. And not with GASGAS either."
So far nobody knows for sure whether Husqvarna and GASGAS are also withdrawing from the Dakar Rally and from rallying.
"Yes, at the Dakar we will only be competing with Red Bull KTM. The line-up will consist of three factory riders: Kevin and Luciano Benavides and Daniel Sanders. As I said, we are focusing on the core brand - and that is KTM!"
