'First, we think about our customer and our quality, the rest will follow'

In an exclusive interview, Gottfried Neumeister, CEO of KTM AG, tells us the inside story of KTM's rise from the ashes, by the man who made it happen

- Interviewed By: Adam Child 'Chad' Photography: KTM

AFTER COMPLETING HIS studies in International Business Administration at the University of Vienna, Gottfried Neumeister worked as a consultant for Siemens AG Austria. In 2003, he founded flyniki together with Niki Lauda and was responsible for the successful development of the aviation business (until the sale to Air Berlin). In 2012, he moved to DO & CO Aktiengesellschaft, where he held various positions on the Management Board, most recently as Co-CEO (2021-2023).

On 23 January 2025, Gottfried Neumeister took over from Stefan Pierer as CEO of PIERER Mobility AG and KTM AG, where he had been Co-CEO since 1 September 2024. He has also been a member of the Executive Board of Pierer Industrie AG since 1 January 2025.

Placing the customer at the centre of all they do, putting a new focus on quality, rebuilding trust with customers and dealers, and simplifying the model ranges, KTM AG CEO Gottfried Neumeister reveals his vision for the troubled Austrian manufacturer. In a wide-ranging interview at KTM's Mattighofen HQ, he also relives the company's fight for survival and outlines the next steps for the group.

The problems with KTM

It’s important to understand that the problems we have are, unfortunately, homegrown. It is not that the global demand for motorcycles dropped all of a sudden, and everyone was in a crisis. There were three obvious reasons why the company came into that situation.

Number one was the bicycle business. We lost 400 million euros in liquidity with our bicycle adventure. It is something that happened. We are not here to blame. The original idea was to sell bicycles alongside our motorcycles in order to capture customers early, to get brand loyalty. So, maybe, you are starting with an e-bicycle and then switching to a motorcycle. But the bicycle market dropped completely after corona. There was so much overproduction and then the demand dropped.