KTM has signalled its intentions to become a majority shareholder in MV Agusta, as revealed in a recent interview.
The interview, published by the Italian website DueRuote, was conducted with Hubert Trunkenpolz, a member of the Pierer Mobility Group (PMG) Executive Board, and confirms that PMG, which became a 25.1% shareholder of MV Agusta last year, wants to become a majority shareholder in the Italian manufacturer, while retaining MV’s presence in Schiranna, Italy.
Since the announcement of the 25.1% share for PMG last year, fears grew in Italy that MV Agusta would go the same way as Husqvarna, which became essentially a paint shop for KTM motorcycles when it was bought by the Austrians in January 2013.
However, as reported by DueRuote, “this is not going to happen,” Trunkenpolz said. Instead of laying people off and shifting production, PMG is looking to upscale MV’s existing production line, which last year produced 1,000 motorcycles: “This figure is zero for us,” Trunkenpolz said.
Instead, MV’s production lines should be able to produce 12,000 bikes per year, according to Trunkenpolz, and realising this potential volume is a priority for KTM.
Along the same lines as maintaining MV’s production base in Schiranna, Trunkenpolz also said that MV’s role among the PMG brands will be to produce luxury bikes, of €30,000 or more. In this way, overlap with other PMG brands - KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas - should theoretically be avoided. Further, the MV Agusta Lucky Explorer is a bike which Trunkenpolz says “is an example of what MV Agusta should not do,” because it is built abroad and is “harmful to the brand itself.”
Of course, in order to implement the changes at MV that they desire, PMG needs to acquire a controlling share in the brand, which is why it aims for at least 50.1% ownership. This was confirmed by Motorrad, who reached out to Trunkenpolz, who reassured that PMG’s share will increase over time, but that the timeframe for the increase in the share will not be disclosed as agreed by the shareholders. Trunkenpolz did say, though, that PMG will invest in the Varese region over the next two years.
