Stefan Pierer, CEO of Pierer Mobility Group, the holding company that owns motorcycle brands KTM, Husqvarna and GasGas, still maintains that the social distancing that’s been happening to the rest of the world affected by the global pandemic could prove as the much-needed boost that the motorcycle industry needs. Demand for KTM motorcycles remains strong, particularly in the USA, and other emerging markets. However, he also says that if you’re gonna sell more bikes, you’re gonna need to make more bikes too.
Pierer revealed in an interview with Les Repaires des Motards that the company has been working hard with the development of the middleweight 490 segment. KTM’s R&D engineers are working closely with Bajaj’s R&D team to develop 500cc parallel-twin bikes in their headquarters located in Pune, India. The new 500 cc parallel-twin would be similar to the current Duke 890’s parallel twin-engine, albeit with a smaller powertrain. The 500 cc segment is an important market to penetrate especially with those who have A2 Licenses who are looking to move up from their smaller-displacement motorcycles from 125 ccs to 390 ccs.
Pierer revealed in an interview with Les Repaires des Motards that the company has been working hard with the development of the middleweight 490 segment. KTM’s R&D engineers are working closely with Bajaj’s R&D team to develop 500cc parallel-twin bikes in their headquarters located in Pune, India. The new 500 cc parallel-twin would be similar to the current Duke 890’s parallel twin-engine, albeit with a smaller powertrain. The 500 cc segment is an important market to penetrate especially with those who have A2 Licenses who are looking to move up from their smaller-displacement motorcycles from 125 ccs to 390 ccs.
Pierer maintains that while there still is a demand for their larger displacement models, it’s not as attractive as that of smaller motorcycles.
Currently, it is true that there is not the same demand for large displacement models - regardless of the manufacturer - as for small and medium displacement. And that will not change for a long time, the time to resolve the crisis, which will be at the earliest until the end of 2021. If you go to the automotive industry, the manufacturers forecast up to 20% less demand after the pandemic and until the end of 2021. Throughout this period, small and medium-sized motorcycles will be the ones people will want to buy, with less demand for large motorcycles.
However, in the USA, they still see high demand for their new 890 Duke R and 1290 Duke R, forcing them to hire even more workers just to meet the demand of the US market.
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