No Big Bikes For India Says KTM CEO; Here’s Why

If you’ve been following us on Instagram, you’d have seen that KTM marked a significant production milestone in India, by rolling out one million bikes from Bajaj’s manufacturing plant in Chakan. This Bajaj-KTM alliance forged back in 2007 helped pave the path for KTM bikes into India, which range from 125cc to 390cc. 

But what about the bigger KTM bikes for India? As per Stefan Pierer, CEO, KTM AG, India’s exorbitant tax rates render imports of big KTMs economically unfeasible, while low volume/demand for these bikes do not justify localising their production either. Hence, for KTM, bringing in its big capacity oranges currently presents itself to be a very challenging business model.

We did see the KTM 790 Duke make its way into the country back in 2019 in limited numbers, however, they ceased to exist after the BS6 emission norms were enforced. And while there was some hope that the 890 Duke and 890 Adventure would be retailed in India, the bikes never made it here.

But the above-mentioned bikes did come to India, along with the 1290 Super Duke, but mainly to be showcased at the 2022 iteration of India Bike Week to gauge customer interest. The brand had done something similar in 2019 too with the 790 Adventure. So, even after years of taking in customer’s feedback, it looks like the wait for KTM big bikes to set foot here is going to be a long one.

You’d probably argue that, by localising production, KTM would be able to make its big bikes accessible, and thus try to increase sales volume in India, right? Well, in addition to setting up a manufacturing line in Chakan, the brand will also have to revamp its sales and service outlets across the country, which in itself is a massive investment. 

Additionally, the company will also have to create an inventory of parts for these big bikes and given that big bikes still fall into a niche segment in India, does present this to be a situation where a lot of effort bears less results.

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Thus, for all you KTM fanboys waiting in the hope of upgrading to the 890 Duke or the 890 Adventure, the wait is going to be a long one unfortunately. Alternatively, you can choose to bring home the Triumph Street Triple RS or the Ducati Multistrada 950. In a related development, Yamaha intends to launch the MT-07, R7 and MT-09 in India.