PIERER Mobility - KTM, Husqvarna, GasGas
Additional Reporting by Ben Purvis
Following the announcement of record growth for the first quarter of 2021, provisional results released by PIERER Mobility AG, the KTM, Husqvarna and GasGas parent company, says it has doubled its sales in the first half of 2021 with 176,045 units sold - a +95% increase over the Covid impacted 90,331 units sold in the first half of 2020.
Additionally, the group sold some 53,378 e-bicycles and non-e-bicycles, a +25% increase over the same period last year, of which 39,603 were R RAYMON, HUSQVARNA and GASGAS branded e-bikes.
Europe recorded 73,224 motorcycles sold (+76% over the same period of the previous year). Growth was particularly strong in North America, where 30,419 motorcycles were sold in the first six months of 2021 - this corresponds to an increase of +160% compared to the first half of 2020. A similar trend was seen in Australia/New Zealand, with a +25% increase for a total of 7,842 units sold.
Despite the ongoing difficult conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, sales in India increased by +52% to 30,561 motorcycles (previous year: 20,160).
Compared to June 30, 2020, the PIERER Mobility Group has increased its headcount by around 500 people to approximately 4,900 and continues looking for new employees in various areas. As part of its apprenticeship offensive, 70 more apprentices will start their education in this year. In total, the group is educating around 200 apprentices.
Bulgarian e-bike joint venture
In additional business news, PIERER Mobility AG has established a joint venture in Bulgaria with Maxcom Ltd for e-bike production in Bulgaria. The move will expand Pierer's bicycle and e-bike production capacity in Europe.
The venture is a 50/50 deal with an investment of € 40m and will see a "state-of-the-art e-bike production facility built on an area of 130,000 m². International suppliers are also given the opportunity to set up production facilities on site. Commissioning is planned for the second half of 2023. The annual production capacity is around 350,000 pieces".
Maxcom is one of the largest bicycle manufacturers in Eastern Europe and a member of the MAXEUROPE group in Bulgaria - they already produce the R RAYMON brand and some Husqvarna e-bicycles for Pierer E-Bikes GmbH.
Simplified shareholding structure with Bajaj
Meanwhile, the Byzantine evolution of the share ownership structure of PIERER Mobility AG and its owners and holding company Pierer Industrie AG and PTW Holding AG that has evolved ever since Bajaj Auto Ltd. (India) took a major ownership stake in KTM is finally to be simplified. Allegedly.
An agreement in principle had been reached with Bajaj Auto Ltd. and its wholly owned subsidiary Bajaj Auto International Holdings BV (Netherlands, "BAIHBV"), to place BAIHBV's 46.5% stake in KTM AG into PIERER Mobility AG.
As a next step, Pierer and Bajaj will now initiate competition and takeover law consultations with the relevant authorities as well as the necessary valuations. PIERER Mobility AG, for its part, will go ahead with preparations under capital market law.
"Depending on the outcome of the valuation process, the opinion of the Austrian Takeover Commission and the transaction negotiations as well as the clearance by the competition authorities, PIERER Mobility AG will carry out a capital increase through contribution in kind from the existing authorised capital of the company under exclusion of subscription rights by up to 50% of the existing share capital".
[In other words - "we are sorry our shareholding structure is such a mess, but we are now going to try to sort it out, honest".]
After completion of the transaction, the shareholding of PIERER Mobility AG in the operating KTM AG division will increase from currently about 51.7% to about 98.2%. The Pierer Group will continue to maintain sole control over PIERER Mobility AG.
KTM RC 8C offers Moto2 performance
KTM is unique among the competitors in the MotoGP championship as it's the only company to race, and win, at the very highest level in motorcycling without having a production superbike in its range to capitalise on the publicity that competition generates.
While MotoGP fans supporting Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Ducati or Aprilia can all step into a showroom and buy a superbike bearing at least a vague similarity to the race machines, KTM's biggest full-faired sports model is the single-cylinder RC390.
After discontinuing the V-twin RC8, KTM turned its back on superbikes, with boss Stefan Pierer suggesting he believes there's no place for such high-performance machines on today's roads. However, for several years KTM has pursued the idea of a track-only sports bike, and now it's launched exactly that in the form of the RC 8C.
The RC 8C isn't quite the bike that KTM was expected to make. Originally the company's plan was to build a V4-powered RC16 based on its MotoGP contender, but that idea seems to be on hold. Instead, the company has joined forces with Kramer Motorcycles to create the limited edition (100) RC 8C.
Kramer is the key to the new bike. Set up by former KTM engineers, the company initially developed a track bike based on the KTM 690 single-cylinder engine and then created the GP2 890R around the 890 Duke R's 899 cc parallel twin.
In creating the RC 8C, KTM has simply taken the existing GP2 890R - a pure trackday bike - and wrapped it in MotoGP-inspired, KTM-branded GRP and Kevlar bodywork.
The chromoly steel frame, cast alloy swingarm and the plastic, tail-mounted fuel tank that doubles as a self-supporting seat are all straight from the Kramer GP2 890R. So is the dummy 'tank' between the rider's legs - actually a large airbox for the engine, which helps boost power by 7 hp from the 890 Duke R's 121 hp to 128 hp. The lightweight, slick-clad Dymag wheels, Brembo brakes and race-spec WP suspension are also straight from Kramer. What's new is the bodywork, based on the RC16 GP bike's and complete with aerodynamic winglets and a downforce-creating 'scoop' under the swingarm. Dry, the bike weighs a claimed 140 kg, putting performance roughly on a par with a Moto2 racer.
As a purpose-made trackday bike, the design has some neat features including replaceable crash bungs on the sides of the frame, the swingarm, the fork bottoms and the edges of the tail - so a minor off shouldn't lead to catastrophic damage. The ride height, seat height, footpegs and bars are all adjustable, as is the steering head angle and offset.
Of the 100 customers, 25 will also be able to pay more to join KTM's MotoGP test at Jerez in October, where their bikes will be handed over and they'll get tuition from KTM test riders Dani Pedrosa and Mika Kallio. Those lucky 25 will also get an extra track package including a second set of wheels, rain tyres, front and rear paddock stands and tyre warmers.
None of this comes cheap, of course. The RC 8C's base price is approx. € 35,990, but even so, they're likely to sell out fast. As a toe-in-the-water exercise, if the project is successful, it might well increase the chances of a true RC16-based track-only KTM making an appearance in the future, and of course any customers who miss out on the chance to buy the RC 8C will always be able to go directly to Kramer to get the mechanically identical GP2 890R.
KTM-backed EMotion electric project update
After a year of development work, a consortium including the Austrian Institute of Technology and KTM is approaching the prototype stage for a project exploring the future of lightweight, efficient electric bikes.
Called EMotion, the goal is to create a scooter-style electric bike aimed at young riders in the 16-18 age group and older riders over 50. It's intended to be inexpensive, efficient and comfortable while offering a direct alternative to traditional combustion engine bikes.
To achieve those targets the consortium, which also includes KTM's sister company and styling partner Kiska, has set goals of increased efficiency compared to current alternatives, lightweight construction for improved performance, and an innovative 'human-machine interface'.
The project kicked off in March last year and instantly faced the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing physical meetings between members of the consortium. That led the team to turn to the use of augmented-reality technology to allow members to meet in virtual settings and see the computer models of the project as though it was real.
Since the start of the project, work has focussed on the chassis and drivetrain, using data collected from a sensor-equipped test vehicle used on a variety of roads to set parameters for simulation of the new bike's components. This led to the adoption of a steel tube frame with aluminium alloy elements, and the establishment of the riding position and the shape and location of the battery pack, all optimising storage space and usability.
The motor technology was also chosen - a permanent magnet synchronous design - and the team is now focussing on the development of the charging hardware using gallium nitride semiconductors to achieve high charging power from a small unit.
Project coordinator Thomas Bäuml from the AIT Center for Low-Emission Transport said: "We are well on the way to actually getting the e-two-wheeler on the road. However, there are still some technological hurdles to be overcome before the prototype can be built. The concentrated innovative strength of the EMotion consortium makes me confident that our mobility solution will be an integral part of the transport system in just a few years."
