KTM: 60 years old and all its (long) teeth !
On Friday March 15, 2013, the Austrian company Kronreif Trunkenpolz Mattighofen celebrated its 60th anniversary. Do these three unpronounceable words mean anything to you? However, they designate the European manufacturer who sold the most motorcycles in 2012: KTM !
On Friday March 15, 2013, the Austrian company Kronreif Trunkenpolz Mattighofen celebrated its 60th anniversary. Do these three unpronounceable words mean anything to you? However, they designate the European manufacturer who sold the most motorcycles in 2012: KTM !
Karrement Too Much Money !
In 2012, KTM sold 107,142 motorcycles around the world, a spectacular increase of 32% compared to the previous year. Even stronger: the "small" Austrian brand (1,702 employees all the same!) Is ahead of its great rival, BMW Motorrad, whose worldwide sales volume – however up 2% – reached "only" 106,338 units in 2012.
Admittedly, if we add the 10,751 Husqvarna (brand belonging to BMW in 2012) which found buyers last year, the results of the Munich manufacturer indicate 117,109 deliveries. But in the strict sense, Katoche performed better than Behème !
Ironically, HVA was also … the general manager of KTM !
For the first time, the Mattighofen brand therefore becomes the largest European motorcycle manufacturer in terms of volumes sold, with its 7.5% market share in Europe..
A hell of a climb since the presentation of his first prototype, the R100, on March 15, 1953 in Vienna: at that time, the founder of KTM, Hans Trunkenpolz, employed 20 people who built three motorcycles a day !
But Trunkenpolz has strong ambitions, including that of creating the largest workshop in Upper Austria. Ingenious and gifted with his hands, this former locksmith quickly made a name for himself in the off-road industry: from the 1960s, the KTMs (Kronreif Trunkenpolz Mattighofen) began to gain a solid reputation….
The Austrian firm then accumulates world titles (224 to date!) And outrageously dominates the rally-raid category with no less than twelve Dakar victories. At the start of the 1990s, KTM saw further and wanted to get off the beaten track: in 1994, the factory unveiled its first road model, the 620 Duke.
Communicating widely around the now famous Ready To Race, the Austrian manufacturer capitalizes on models with taut, sleek lines and equipped with demonstrative single or twin-cylinder engines. All inserted with a shoehorn in tubular cycle parts above all suspicion !
KTM continues its ascent with the, the 990 SM, and and launches the formidable hypersportive. However, despite obvious dynamic qualities and a "bitumen" know-how brilliantly demonstrated in speed Grand Prix, sales remain confidential with regard to the volumes generated by the all-terrain range …
Mini Duke, maxi profits !
The second big boom comes thanks to the alliance with which will allow KTM to dynamite the 125 cc segment with its "mini Duke" (read our). This is the jackpot, especially in France where more than 1,300 registrations are counted in the space of just eight months. !
Between this success and the arrival of new generations of ever more efficient all-terrain vehicles, Katoche closed the 2011 financial year with an increase in turnover of 13.4% (526.8 million euros) and sales in 22.4% increase (81,200). All the indicators go green for the Orange brand (read in particular) !
Suitably, KTM expands its Duke range in order to link its two extremes: the 125 cc grows in, then in, while the 690 Duke undergoes a successful facelift aimed at making it (a little) more versatile (read our). And fans of (very!) Big sensations are not forgotten since Austrian engineers are actively working on the replacement of its sporty roadster, the .
The more fortunate will also note with interest that the KTM four-wheeled car, the sculptural X-Bow, has recently been offered a "GT" version equipped with a soft top, a 50-liter (!) And luggage storage space. ‘a windshield. Price of this toy with an Audi engine developing 285 hp: € 72,500 !
In 2013, the manufacturer from Mattighofen also strengthened its presence in the juicy trail-road segment: the 990 Adventure and its lines inspired by rally-raid now coexist with the whose avowed objective is to walk on the flowerbeds of the "neighbor" R1200GS…
Crisis ? What a crisis ?
Thanks to these relevant strategic choices, to the sporting and commercial success of its all-terrain range and to the gradual expansion of its road offer, KTM is quite calmly entering the sixties mark….
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Orange Days 2013 |
| Friday April 5 and Saturday April 6, the KTM France network will test the entire 2013 "road" range, including the 1190 Adventure, as part of the Orange Days. For the fifth consecutive year, it is possible to book your trial in advance on the . |
The brand is therefore proud to announce that its net income increased by 22.2% in 2012 (25.3 million euros compared to 20.7 in 2011), and that its financial debt was reduced to 99.3 million euros (39% debt ratio).
And despite the worrying conjecture and the continued decline of the motorcycle market, the Austrians expect "a further increase in sales and turnover for fiscal 2013", they assure with confidence. Optimism, to say the least, motivating for the 133 new employees hired by Katoche in 2012 !
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