Europe’s second-largest motorcycle manufacturer has flagged up its best-ever performance, with global annual bike sales up by 32 per cent to 107,142 units, including more than 8000 KTM-branded 200cc machines made and sold in India by its major shareholder and production partner Bajaj Auto.
KTM, which says that it expects to report a record 2012 turnover exceeding £520m in forthcoming full-year financial results, most notably bucked a 12 per cent European market decline by increasing sales in Europe by nine per cent. This reflected a 33 per cent increase in the Austrian company’s share of the European motorcycle market to 7.5 per cent overall. UK registrations for the brand rose by 27 per cent to 3070 units, plus an unspecified number of unregistered purely off-road machines.
Performance in the USA was also striking, as KTM improved unit sales and revenue by about 25 per cent in a market that grew by only 1.2 per cent in total. It is also claiming a ten-fold sales increase in South East Asia, without being specific as to the volume involved.
“Particularly encouraging is the market development in Asia, which has contributed significantly to the company’s success,” commented KTM chief executive Stefan Pierer.