Husqvarna Motorcycles up for global reboot powered by KTM-Bajaj Auto; India launch in 2018

Bajaj Auto and KTM are celebrating 10 years of strategic partnership in 2017. To take a decade-old relationship to the next level, the Indian and Austrian bike makers have announced rebooting of Husqvarna brand for a global launch in 2018.

Also read: Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Svartpilen 401 unveiled at EICMA 2016

Stefarn Pierer, CEO of KTM, and Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director of Bajaj Auto, have decided on the strategy to take the Husqvarna Motorcycles brand global, and scale up the business multiple times, an official statement said.

Husqvarna Motorcycles is owned by KTM and Bajaj Auto owns 48 per cent stake in KTM. KTM had acquired a long-term license for Husqvarna Motorcycles in 2013 from BMW Motorrad and was in pursuit to revamp the Swedish brand.

Husqvarna Motorcycles had started production in 1903 at Huskvarna. The brand is known for motocross, enduro, supermoto motorcycles. After KTM's stepped in, Husqvarna had unveiled mainstream and road-biased Vitpilen 401 concept at the EICMA show in 2014 and its production version last year.

As part of renewed operations, Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Svartpilen 401 and Vitpilen 701 motorcycles will be produced in Mattighofen, Austria and launched in early 2018. Later in the same year, the production of Vitpilen 401 and Svartpilen 401 will be moved to India. Bajaj Auto's Chakan plant in Pune will be the manufacturing hub.

Both Vitpilen 401 and Svartpilen 401 are based on the KTM 390 Duke which is manufactured for global as well as the domestic markets at Pune. Hence, a shift of lower capacity Husqvarna bikes to India will be easier and cost effective. 

Once the production starts in India, Bajaj Auto-KTM will launch the Husqvarna bike in India. The Vitpilen 401 and Svartpilen 401 are expected to be pricier than KTM 390 Duke. Husqvarna will be positioned slightly premium over KTM.

The duo envisions production of KTM and Husqvarna models in India to go up to 2,00,000 in the next couple of years. Bajaj Auto aims to sell Husqvarna motorcycles at a similar level as KTM products in India and Indonesia.