Orange Revolution:
The Remarkable Rise of KTM
Introduction
There are many European motorcycle brands are in India. But no other brand became as famous KTM. With the support of Bajaj Auto the service & production became buttery smooth. That is why KTM was able to deliver a powerful bike in a budget of a middle-class family. In this blog we will discuss how KTM started and how it gets at today’s place.
Starting of KTM
The journey of KTM started in 1934. When an Austrian engineer Hans Trunkenpolz founded a metal-work and vehicle repair shop named ‘Kraftfahzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen’ (the fun part is, the full form of ‘K’ in ‘KTM’ is not Kraftfahzeug) situated in a small town of Mattighofen, Austria. Initially this company was not for manufacturing any bikes, they were mainly focused on repairing DKW motorcycles & Opel cars. The demand for engine repairing services declined after World War II.
Birth of KTM
Hans Trunkenpolz made his first motorcycle prototype in 1951. He named it R100, using a Rotax engines made by Fichtel & Sachs. Hans started mass production in 1953 with 20 employees which had capacity of building 3 motorcycles per day.
The turning point for Hans also came into 1953, when a businessman named Ernst Kronreif a acquired a major stake in Hans’ company. After the acquisition they renamed the company as ‘Kronreif & Trunkenpolz Mattighofen’ in short ‘KTM’. ‘K’ stands for ‘Kronreif’ not for that German word that mentioned earlier.
Ups & Downs of KTM
Rise of KTM:
After the launch, KTM got a steady growth for almost two decades. KTM did not restricted themselves in motorcycles, they also expanded their portfolio with production of scooters, mopeds and bicycles. Along with these KTM also began to establishing them in motor sports, particularly in offroad racing, moto-cross & enduro competitions. By the year 1941 KTM was selling around 42 different models with large team of around 400 peoples.
KTM was enjoying the growth till 1970s. In 1978, KTM expanded its subsidiary in USA as KTM North America Inc. situated in Lorain, Ohio. By 1981, KTM had almost 700 employees with a turnover of 750 million Schillings and almost 76% of this turnover was from international business.
Crisis of KTM:
By late 1980s KTM faced some significant challenges. The sales of scooters and mopeds dropped dramatically. That time KTM shifted their focus into radiator manufacturing for European car manufacturers. More over KTM was late to develop the mountain cycles, finally when KTM finalised mountain cycles for production the sales of such kind of cycles were already declined.
The situation went more worsened when Erich Trunkenpolz took over and sold 51% to an Austrian investment trust called GIT Trust Holding in 1989. The new management was led by inexperienced Dr. Josef Taus, who was unable to handle the mounting debt of the company. The production was halted in 1988. The company was taken over by creditors in 1991.
Revival of KTM:
Though the company was taken over by the creditors but still KTM made their comeback in 1992. At first the company was split into 4 separate divisions those are,
- Motorcycles
- Radiators
- Bicycles
- Tooling.
The motorcycle division named KTM Sport-Motorcycle GmbH was acquired by a pool of five largest European distributors, a Swiss investment group and some members from the KTM management team.
The new KTM team, now focused determinedly on off-road motorcycles and began its transformation towards a premium brand. These all were happening under the leadership of Stefan Pierer. He was the actual person who acquired KTM through his holding company named ‘Pierer Mobility AG’. Under his super vision KTM introduced several iconic model with new specification like,
- 1994: KTM launched the Duke series of road motorcycle.
- 1996: KTM introduced their iconic orange colour.
- 1997: KTM introduced liquid – cooled engine for supermoto & adventure motorcycle.
In 1995 KTM bought a Swedish motorcycle brand named Husaberg AB. Not only this But KTM also bought one of the oldest motorcycle brand Husqvarna, this brand was founded in 1903. Husqvarna was previously owned by BMW Motorrad AG.
KTM’s Motorsports Supremacy
After the revival of KTM. It proved itself in various motorsports events. By the end of 2016 KTM won more than 260 world championship title across various categories. KTM won titles like MXGP, MX1, MX2, E1, E2 & E3. With KTM, rider Brad Binder became the 1st South African to win the Moto GP and also the 1st rider to secure KTM’s inaugural premier class victory in 2020.
Not only world championship & Moto GP. KTM also concurred world’s most dangerous offroad event the ‘Dakar Rally’. Not once not twice KTM held the title for 18 consecutive years from 2001 to 2019. By 2025 KTM own 20 ‘Dakar Rally’ titles.
KTM’s Entry in India
KTM officially entered in Indian market on 24th January 2012. But KTM introduced themselves with proper R&D of Indian market, they did it with the help of Bajaj Auto.
Now you might ask, “Why Bajaj helped them?”. Well, because back in 2007 Bajaj Auto acquired 14.5% stack of KTM AG.
Rapid Success & Expansion in India
Initially KTM didn’t introduced their all models in India. 1st KTM launched their 200 Duke with a price of ₹1.17 lakhs (Ex-showroom). At this price this bike became a huge success. With in 1st year KTM sold almost 8500 units of 200 Duke. After this success KTM expand their portfolio rapidly in India.
In 2013 KTM introduced 390 Duke. In late 2013 & early 2014 KTM launched RC 200 & RC 390. Soon KTM understood that there was a gap between 200cc & 390cc so, in 2017 they introduced 250 Duke. After 2 years, in 2019 KTM introduced their Adventure series starting with their 390 Adventure. Later they also introduced a 250 adventure.
A less known fact is, KTM manufactures their bike in Bajaj Auto’s Chakan facility in Pune. Not only for India, from here KTM export their motorcycles to over 80 countries.
On 2023, KTM rolled out 1 millionth motorcycle out from the plant, this was undoubtedly a remarkable milestone. This 1 millionth motorcycle was a KTM 390 Adventure. The more important fact is KTM reached their 2nd half million with in the half time of their 1st half million.
How KTM became this successful in India
There are mainly 2 things that made KTM successful in India.
i) Revolutionary product & pricing:
The power to weight ratio that introduced by KTM was unprecedented. Specially the price bracket KTM had chosen was also remarkable. The European design and styling with signature orange colour attracted the Indian consumers.
ii) Manufacturing & Service Excellence:
The Partnership with Bajaj Auto gave KTM a crucial advantage. The local manufacturing in Bajaj Auto’s Pune plant reduced the pricing of the motorcycle while maintaining the European standards. The extensive service network of Bajaj Auto helped KTM, in their after sales support.
Current Global Position of KTM
Although KTM got a major success in Indian market with the help of Bajaj Auto. But in 2024 KTM faced some severe financial difficulties. KTM reached total debt of €2.9 billion. And in this tough situation Bajaj Auto became the guardian angle for KTM. Bajaj Auto invested € 800 million and acquired majority control of KTM. This shows that Bajaj Auto still has some confidence on this brand.
On this tough situation KTM reported sales of 100,000 motorcycles globally that to in the 1st half of 2025. KTM also own the 2025 ‘Dakar Rally’.
Conclusion:
From a small vehicle repair shop in Austria to became a global motorcycle power house. The journey is one of the most remarkable journey in the automotive history of World. In this journey an Indian motorcycle brand Bajaj Auto also played a crucial role.
A note from a biker to the readers:
In India KTM motorcycles are now commonly known as a ‘Chapri Bike’ or ‘Chapri Brand’. So, I wanted to request all of you do not call these type of names to a brand. You may like or may not like the brand but A brand cannot be labelled as ‘Chapri’ just because some irresponsible cartoon riders.
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