Report - KTM considering production of 500 cc and 800 cc bikes in India

13/02/2014 - 13:02 | ,   | Karthik H

KTM has announced that it is considering production of a 500 cc and a 800 cc bike in India within the next 3 years. The bikes will likely be produced at KTM's only production facility in India, which is Bajaj's plant in Pune.

An Overdrive report says that KTM's president and CEO Stefan Pierer commented saying that complex platforms like the 500 cc and 800 cc are being considered for production in India, adding that the high import duty makes local production the only way to sell bikes here.

KTM Duke 690 side press shot
KTM projects low volumes for the Duke 690 in India.

Regarding the KTM Duke 690, the report quotes Pierer saying that low volume projections for the bike throws local production out of the question and that importing it would mean re-homologating and selling it with high duties which would act as a deterrent for customers.

The report also says that the Austrian manufacturer, in which Bajaj has a 47 percent stake, is working on one more product in an off-road platform that would eventually be slotted between the KTM Duke 200 and the Duke 390. There will also be an adventure tourer on the same platform with a larger fuel tank.

KTM RC390 side view
The KTM RC390 will be launched early next fiscal.

KTM is also considering the Husqvarna brand for India, says the Overdrive report.

KTM will launch the RC200 and the RC390 (faired variants) in the early part of the next fiscal year, its head of sales for India, confirmed earlier to IAB.

[Source - Overdrive]

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