Bajaj acquires stake in KTM Motorcycles
India's second-largest motorcycle maker Bajaj Auto Ltd has acquired a 14.5 per cent stake in Austria's KTM Power Sports, one of Europe's largest sports motorcycle manufacturers, it was announced on Monday.KTM is very successful in motorcycle racing and motocross, with several victories and achievements.
KTM, the second largest European sports motorcycle manufacturer, will provide the know-how in the joint development of water-cooled 4-stroke 125 and 250cc engines, to be used as the basis for products from both companies. We are moving more and more powerful bikes. So KTM's technology was complementary to us and does not create any conflicts," said Amit Nandi, Baja Auto Marketing. Water-cooled technology offers a more efficient power-weight ratio allowing smaller bikes to have higher powerBajaj will take over the sales of KTM products in India and South-East Asia, opening up the Asian market for the Austrian producer. Bajaj acquired the KTM stake through its 100 per cent owned Dutch unit for three billion rupees, the company said in a statement.
KTM CEO Stefan Pierer welcomed the development, saying the cooperation was a great chance to "strengthen the KTM Group in its sustained growth strategy in a global environment". Through the cooperation with Bajaj, KTM extends its product portfolio for the future with a 125-ccm street product line, in addition to the present 1190cc, 990cc and 690cc platforms developed and manufactured in Austria. With the introduction of the new EU driving license which allows riding of 125cc motorcycles with a car driving license in all EU member States, KTM will be in a position to offer innovative premium entry models in the street segment.
KTM is listed on Vienna's stock exchange and reported revenues of 599.1 million Euro's in the previous business year.
Bajaj Auto Ltd ranks among the world's top five motorcycle producers, reporting revenues of 2.9 billion Euro's and 220 million Euro's consolidated net profits.
