Friday, 14 August 2026

News Briefs



Germany - On April 23 the creditors of Polo Motorrad & Sportswear GmbH unanimously approved a further restructuring - "an important milestone in the ongoing proceedings." B&B reports that "the company has stated that the vote confirms the current direction and creates planning certainty for the next steps. Operationally, the company is proving stable: it has had a strong start to the season, the order situation is high, and demand is developing solidly. Financing should be secured until the end of the year and talks with potential investors are ongoing. Polo believes it can continue its restructuring efforts independently. The branch network and online shop will remain fully operational."


In Austria, BAJAJ Mobility AG has added a senior executive to strengthen the R&D at its KTM AG subsidiary, appointing Christof Lischka as Chief Technology and Product Officer. His 25 years of vehicle development experience includes BMW Group leadership roles in chassis development, vehicle dynamics, braking systems and vehicle integration, and development strategy, serving as VP of Development for BMW Motorrad for the past six years.


Royal Enfield has been recognised as the World's third strongest auto brand. The global leader in the mid-size motorcycle segment (250-750 cc), has been ranked the third strongest auto brand in the world by Brand Finance, in its Automotive Industry 2026 report. Royal Enfield achieved a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 88.9/100 with an AAA rating, while recording a remarkable 30% surge in brand value to $1.2bn.


Austria - BAJAJ Mobility (KTM) subsidiary WP Suspension has been hooked by the drug of brand extension with its first major product diversification - into the brake components segment. Primarily for Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) integration, the new line is ambitious - starting with pads, hydraulic hoses and callipers straight away. All products are being made in-house at WP in Austria. Initially for lower displacement lightweights, the target appears to be the niche that Brembo is trying to carve out for its ByBre brand. The first application is a 740 g WP FCR4 radial 4-piston caliper for this year's KTM 390 Duke; www.wp-suspension.com


Barcelona, Spain based electric motorcycle manufacturer Stark Future has now passed three years since its first customer revenue and has marked its strongest financial milestone yet with Q1 2026 revenue growth of 212% year-on-year, equivalent to 3.12x growth, while delivering its first EBITDA-profitable period and outperforming its own internal budget. Anton Wass, Founder and CEO of Stark Future, said "the results show that Stark's growth is not being led by unsustainable losses, but by real market demand, strong product momentum, and increasingly disciplined execution.


Honda has opened a new motorcycle production factory in Turkey. The new facility (at Aliaga, Izmir) is operated by Honda Türkiye A.S and is Honda's 38th factory worldwide and has an initial annual production capacity set at 100,000 units, with the opportunity to expand to up to 200,000. Production started in April 2026. Turkey has become one of Honda's key growth markets. In 2025 Honda took the number one position in the market for the 11th consecutive year.