INTERVIEW
KTM PRESIDENT/CEO STEFAN PIERER PART I
P68
Is its future presence on-road
the reason why Husqvarna
went Moto3 racing last sea-
son?
Yes, because we had the
opportunity there to restart the
branding of Husqvarna in the mind
of the public with something other
than an off-road bike. I think it was
very successful, and we will stick
with Moto3 this year. We have
a very competitive team, Team
Calvo, with a good rider, Isaac
Viñales. He could be a World title
contender for Husqvarna.
And will you then produce
Husqvarnas in India as well
as the top of the line models
in Austria? Can you give me a
time line when you expect to
launch that?
Not completely in India, be-
cause so far I couldn't convince
my strategic partner Mr. Rajiv Bajaj
to adopt Husqvarna in India. He's
heavily involved in his own brands
there since Honda is so aggres-
sively attacking the Indian market
in its own right after separating
from Hero. I will try again to con-
vince him to do it, because in my
opinion he could have a big suc-
cess there with the New Classic
that is Husqvarna.
Look at Royal Enfield and see
what they are doing. It's very
clever and very successful. They
are selling 200,000 units in India
of what is a classic pushrod 1950s
English motorcycle, and you see a
lot of them on Indian roads. They
have a very specific and loyal cus-
tomer base that is young and style
conscious. So if you offer them
"YOU HAVE
TO FACE UP
TO YOUR
COMPETITORS
AND SAY,
'OKAY, LET'S
GO. LET'S
GO RACING!'
… ONLY IN
THE MARKET
PLACE THIS
TIME—IN THE
SHOWROOM,
NOT ON THE
RACETRACK."
The Husqvarna Svartpilen (left) and Vitpilen (right) concept bikes
unveiled at EICMA last fall are due to hit the dealer's floor in 2017.
