2019 HUSQVARNA SVARTPILEN 701
FIRST REVIEW
P104
MOVING
ON UP
While the Husqvarna name has a strong
history thanks to its domination of off-
road competition in the '50s and '60s,
the last couple of decades have been a
roller coaster. In 1987, Husqvarna sold off
their motorcycle division to Cagiva—the
start of a three-decade period during
which the company had three different
owners. BMW acquired Husky in 2007
but, by 2013, it had already sold it to KTM.
At the end of BMW's ownership,
Husqvarna was selling less than 11,000
bikes a year. But with a dirt-focused
corporate parent, Husqvarna has been
thriving. The first full year under KTM was
2014, and they sold 16,337 machines,
setting a company record in the process.
Each year since, Husqvarna has set a
new sales record. In 2018, there were
48,535 bikes built with Husky logos on
their tanks, approximately 15,000 of
which were street bikes.
Husqvarna's Head of Global Market-
ing, Federico Valentini, had a bright smile
on his face as he recounted how much
Husky has grown since KTM took the
reins. Looking forward, he teased the
next generation of dirt bikes as well as
the upcoming EE 5, Husky's first electric
motorcycle, and his smile grew larger
as he summed up the future in just three
words: "We're being ambitious." Federico
has every reason to beam—things are
looking very good for Husqvarna.
