KTM's Stefan Pierer Speaks: Post-Coronavirus Is Full Of Opportunity!

The devastating effects of Coronavirus aka Covid-19 on the global economy are too great to quantify right now. But as things start to struggle towards a new normal, it’s evident that the worldwide motorcycle industry is facing a set of challenges which comprise both rehabilitation, and opportunity. Who better to ask for a frank appraisal of the effects of the pandemic, as well as an assessment of what the future holds, than the majority owner of Europe’s largest motorcycle manufacturer by volume, KTM’s Stefan Pierer.

- Alan Cathcart 

KTM finished last year on a continued high, after yet another record year which saw sales spiralling up to 280,099 motorcycles in 2019 – a further all-time record for the company, up a further 7% compared to the previous year in comprising 234,449 KTM machines and 45,650 Husqvarnas. Its President/CEO Stefan Pierer thus consolidated his role as the most significant figure in the European motorcycle industry - a position underlined by the renaming last October of the overall holding company formerly called KTM Industries, henceforth to be known as Pierer Mobility AG.

Thanks to its continued focus on innovation, the Pierer Group may justifiably claim to be the European PTW/powered two-wheeled industry’s leader in technology, emphasised by the outright takeover last October of the German company Pexco, previously its strategic partner in manufacturing an expanding range of electric bicycles. Another strategic partnership, its long-established link with Bajaj Auto, India’s second largest indigenous motorcycle manufacturer which owns 47.99% of KTM AG equity, with the remaining 51.67% of the voting rights held by Pierer Mobility, continues to strengthen the Austrian company’s competitiveness in global markets.

The chance to talk with Stefan Pierer by Skype provided a typically realistic look at the postCovid marketplace, and his plans to address the many issues and opportunities it presents.

AC: Stefan, how has the unexpected impact of the Covid-19 crisis affected KTM, especially after another record year in 2019?