Collaborations between automobile companies, particularly in the Indian bike market, can become a bit tricky sometimes due to differently skewed opinions. For instance, Stefan Pierer, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Austrian bike manufacturer KTM, feels that its Husqvarna brand has the potential of doing really well in India and it could well challenge the dominance of Royal Enfield. In an interview to Cycle World, he expressed his desire to launch the brand in India. However, several reports suggest that Bajaj Auto, KTM’s collaborator in the country, has plenty on its plate, which would rule out Husqvarna entering the Indian market.
According to sources, Rajiv Bajaj, the chief of Bajaj Auto, is not in agreement with the idea of bringing Husqvarna to the Indian market. One of the main reasons for this is the fact that Bajaj Auto, itself, is dealing with several problems. Honda has really come into its own in the past year and is challenging Bajaj Auto in the Indian market. Bajaj Auto has been instrumental in establishing KTM as a brand in the India and this has come about as a result of immense investment and energy. Experts feel that Bajaj will utilise the technology of KTM in its new bikes Pulsar to get back its lost share in the Indian market. Bajaj Auto was one of the market leaders sometime back but Hero MotoCorp and Honda have gone ahead of the firm.
Pierer, in his interview, said that the firm would ideally like to commence production by October in 2016 and it will be carried out at the firm’s Chakan plant. Adding further, he said that KTM intends to launch Svartpilen and Vitpilen by 2017. Experts feel that the quality and class of Husqvarna motorcycles can make them a hit in the Indian market.
