Austrian manufacturer KTM has reported a 34.1 per cent increase in global motorcycle sales to 26,029 units in its first 2013 financial quarter to 31 March. Resultant revenue for the period was up by 20.5 per cent to £139.7m.
Quarterly performance highlights included stratospheric 424 per cent growth in Asian markets and more than 1400 units of the 200 Duke sold in India by KTM’s local partner Bajaj. Market share for the brand grew by 9.4 per cent in Europe to 7.8 per cent and 23.3 per cent to 4.7 per cent in the US, although the company says it anticipates ongoing overall volume declines in both of those markets owing to economic difficulties, offset by continuing improvement in Asia.
KTM registrations in the UK were about 14 per cent down during the three months but that does not reflect the brand’s high proportion of purely off-road machine sales.
Commenting on the results, KTM chief executive Stefan Pierer said: “The successful launch of the new 1190 Adventure was crucial for the sales increase in Europe. The implementation of a global product strategy shows a very positive development in Asia where sales could be more than quintupled compared to the previous year.”