Austrian company Pierer Mobility, which owns KTM, GasGas and Husqvarna, has bought over 25 per cent stake in Italian motorcycle brand MV Agusta by way of a capital increase. Under the terms of the agreement of the strategic partnership between the two European motorcycle manufacturers, KTM AG will provide MV Agusta with supply chain support and take over purchasing. Pierer Mobility will also partly distribute MV Agusta’s product range through its worldwide distribution network.
The partnership will see MV Agusta leveraging KTM's global network, giving the Italian brand access to newer markets.
The news follows two important developments, one of KTM and MV Agusta agreeing to a distribution deal, with KTM selling the Italian brand’s bikes in the Austrian company’s North America dealerships. After that development, rumours were rife about KTM acquiring MV Agusta completely, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with the latest announcement.
Also Read: KTM May Look To Acquire MV Agusta
MV Agusta is well-known for making radical and gorgeous motorcycles, and is known as a luxury bike maker. The agreement will give MV Agusta more access through KTM's global network.
KTM has also signed a deal with Chinese brand CFMoto to distribute CFMoto bikes in the UK and Ireland from January 2023. That partnership is from a relationship KTM has had with CFMoto since 2013, with a deal which allows CFMoto to produce small capacity KTM-badged bikes for the Chinese market. Since this relationship, many of KTM’s engines have been seen in CFMoto models, including the 790 cc parallel-twin used in the KTM 790 Duke, which is now used in the CFMoto 800MT.
The partnership between KTM and MV Agusta is obviously good news for MV Agusta fans, which will likely result in a wider reach of the Italian brand across key markets, possibly even including India, where MV Agusta is no longer available. An improved dealer network, pricing stability, parts and servicing support as well as consistent quality control, leveraging Pierer Mobility’s strengths could only be good news for MV Agusta in the years ahead.
MV Agusta is now partly owned by KTM, and partly also by the Black Ocean Group, owned and run by MV Agusta CEO Timur Sardarov’s family. Previously, MV Agusta was owned by the Castiglioni family of Italy, and briefly by Harley-Davidson before that. H-D actually bought MV Agusta from the Castiglioni family and then sold it back after 2008. KTM is part of Pierer Mobility, owned partly by Stefan Pierer and a stake also held by Bajaj Auto.
