KTM Bicycle in the Interview: "Bikes are our DNA and Future

Clarification" has been displayed in large letters on the homepage of www.ktm-bikes.at since late autumn last year. "Motorcycle manufacturer KTM AG (...) is insolvent. This has nothing to do with KTM Fahrrad GmbH." And below: "Only KTM Fahrrad GmbH makes KTM bicycles." It is exhausting, annoying, and difficult for everyone, sighs Stefan Limbrunner. "We say, that's not us. And tomorrow, it’s reported differently in the newspaper again. We are always playing catch-up."
The problem for the managing director of KTM Bike Industries: KTM AG, the motorcycle manufacturer based in Mattighofen, Upper Austria, under the Pierer Mobility Group umbrella, applied for a self-managed restructuring process at the end of November 2024. Reported debt level: 1.8 billion euros. In the widespread reporting since then about the insolvency and its scope, implications, and consequences, there has been little to no distinction made between the also Mattighofen-based and economically healthy KTM Fahrrad GmbH. Even more so: Many people were and are not aware that Europe’s publicly traded motorcycle leader and Austria’s largest bicycle manufacturer are two entirely different companies with separate owners, corporate structures, and products, both originating in 1992 from the bankruptcy estate of KTM Motorfahrzeug KG. And because the Pierer Group also entered the bicycle segment some time ago—albeit under ultimately different brand names than KTM—and this business division is now also faltering, the general confusion and uncertainty is immense.
A significant reputational and perhaps even economic damage for the bicycle manufacturer KTM, which, according to legally adjudicated and confirmed contracts, has the exclusive, worldwide, free, and perpetual right to use the KTM brand in the bicycle sector.

Given the restructuring plan meeting scheduled for February 25, 2025, during which the future of KTM AG will be decided, Bikeboard visited KTM Fahrrad GmbH, toured the production facilities, development department, and brand-new logistics halls with marketing manager Alexander Hobl, and conducted an in-depth discussion about the current situation with the management team consisting of Johanna Grabner-Urkauf and Stefan Limbrunner.

Bikeboard: Everyone assumes KTM Motorcycles and KTM Bicycles are the same company, which isn't surprising given the shared name and location—Mattighofen, a town of 7,000 people in Upper Austria. In reality, however, they have been two completely independent companies without any economic or corporate ties for over 30 years. But tell us: (grins) Could KTM Fahrrad GmbH, as a financially stable company, step in and invest in the struggling KTM AG?
Stefan Limbrunner: (laughs) Yes, we are a financially healthy and independent company. (pauses, smiles).
Johanna Grabner-Urkauf: (also smiles) We are entirely a bicycle company through and through, and under the KTM brand, we focus on everything related to bicycles. That’s our DNA. We are one of the few brands that manage to offer a truly wide range for all ages and purposes, from children’s bikes to e-mountain bikes, e-cargo bikes, and gravel bikes. And this commitment to shaping the wonderful diversity of bicycles will remain, even as everything continues to diversify and it becomes increasingly challenging to cover all niches.
SL: We are pretty good at bicycles, as we've proven in recent years. And we’re busy enough with advancing the company we are running now. The product range is never finished, after all. Tomorrow there will be a new idea, and then you make the bike a little different or better, and the day after, the next one. It’s like a website or a garden at home—it’s never done.

BB: So, you're not among the 20 interested parties who, according to KTM AG’s restructuring administrator, have expressed interest as potential investors?
JGU: (still smiling) No, we are not.

BB: Roughly speaking, KTM AG, in terms of revenue or number of employees, was five times larger than KTM Fahrrad GmbH before the recent turbulence. The bicycle division, as the largest growth segment of the Pierer Group, achieved about a third of KTM Bikes' sales figures in 2023. Now, according to you, KTM Fahrrad is doing well financially, while Pierer Mobility is struggling, partly due to losses in the bicycle business. What has David done better than Goliath recently?
JGU: We haven't focused too much on others. KTM has been part of the bicycle industry long before the big e-bike boom, and we’ve experienced both good times and bad times. In fact, my grandfather and grandmother were already in the bicycle business, and bicycles actually brought my parents together because my father worked in bicycle wholesale in Salzburg, and my mother had been involved in the bicycle industry in Asia from a very young age and later started her own trading company. And even though the boom has brought many larger companies and investors into the bicycle industry, it hasn’t changed the mentality or spirit of KTM Fahrrad. We remain a family business in the bicycle sector, just as we were 20 years ago.
SL: And we deal every day with the tasks and challenges we have to manage, with the day-to-day business. The developments within KTM Fahrrad alone keep us fully occupied every day, week, and month. We don’t need a second brand or a second company. We want to put all the strength and expertise we have into the company we already own and the brand we are already working hard to strengthen, and to continue developing the bicycle sector. Our goal is to develop the company we currently have so solidly and sustainably that it will still be around decades from now.

The roots of KTM Bike Industries date back to 1934, when Hans Trunkenpolz established a locksmith workshop for the repair of motorcycles and cars, which soon also began selling both types of vehicles and servicing trucks. In 1953, "Kraftfahrzeuge Trunkenpolz Mattighofen" presented its first own motorcycle, and the first bicycle was manufactured in the original operation in 1964.
After a severe crisis, the then KTM Motor-Fahrzeugbau KG faced bankruptcy at the beginning of the 1990s and was split into four divisions. The motorcycle division was purchased in 1992 by industrialist Stefan Pierer, who reestablished it as KTM Sportmotorcycles GmbH (later: KTM Industries, since 2019: KTM AG), while the bicycle division was acquired by bicycle wholesaler Hermann Urkauf, who named his company KTM Fahrrad GmbH.
Following new, including private, turbulences and the threat of bankruptcy, his ex-wife Carol Urkauf-Chen took the helm in 1996 as the sole owner. In the 1997 licensing agreement, the economic and legal separation of the motorcycle and bicycle spheres, which had been carried out in 1992, was also legally established in terms of trademark rights. Accordingly, only KTM Fahrrad GmbH is allowed to manufacture bicycles under the KTM brand or use the KTM name in the bicycle sector, while the trademark and usage rights for the motorcycle division are held by the Pierer Group.
When KTM Industries AG nevertheless stepped into the neighboring segment in violation of the agreement in 2017 through the company Pexco, which it co-founded, KTM Fahrrad GmbH initiated legal action. However, this could not entirely prevent Pierer's involvement. In the meantime, the bicycle business of the Pierer Mobility Group has grown to include the e-bike brands R Raymon, Husqvarna, and Gasgas, as well as the cycling brand Felt. The first of these was sold at the end of 2023 to the entrepreneurial couple Puello, who also co-founded Pexco. The remaining assets are likely to be up for disposition as part of the ongoing insolvency proceedings.

Well-connected in Asia, Carol Urkauf-Chen managed to rehabilitate and stabilize Austria's largest bicycle manufacturer, which operates internationally as KTM Bike Industries.
With the first e-bikes of the new generation, which KTM Fahrrad—always broadly positioned in terms of its range—pioneered, a major upswing followed starting in 2009. Within just over a decade, the family business sextupled its revenue from 100 to over 600 million euros (see also image no. 16, editor's note). In the record year 2022/23, approximately 460,000 bicycles were sold, which were previously produced by around 500 employees at the Mattighofen site and 130 at another plant in the Czech Republic.

The profits from the boom years have been consistently reinvested into the company by KTM Fahrrad – over 30 million euros in the last six years alone, as Johanna Grabner-Urkauf calculates. She took over management in 2018 together with Stefan Limbrunner, while her mother moved to the supervisory board. This investment was not only used to purchase "small things" like 3D printers or test stands and to implement significant systems like an ERP system. At the headquarters and in the neighboring town of Schalchen, four storage and logistics halls as well as a modern, bright production hall with assembly lines that can be reconfigured at any time were built – each including deep drilling for geothermal energy and large photovoltaic systems on the roof. On sunny days, for example, up to 50% of the process heat required for the in-house paint shop, which processes all aluminum frames (carbon frames are delivered already painted), can be self-produced.
The current challenges in the bicycle industry are, of course, reflected in the key figures of KTM Bike Industries, although the company explicitly emphasizes its "healthy financial structure." Revenue currently stands at around 400 million euros, generated by approximately 400 employees on-site. Production has been scaled back from a two-shift operation to a single-shift operation, reducing output to about 700 bikes daily.

BB: Back to the impacts of the insolvency on KTM Fahrrad. What countermeasures have already been taken, aside from intensive efforts for media clarification and differentiation? Is a marketing campaign being launched, is there support for dealers with specific POS or informational materials, are targeted actions planned?
JGU: We have always worked very closely with our dealers, and now more than ever. And we are also very grateful for this collaboration because our dealers are simply the best spokespeople. We have sent them info letters, which can be very useful in customer conversations to address the most essential points; some have even designed their own posters.
SL: Perhaps producing displays for the point of sale is another idea. On our website, the most important facts are prominently displayed, there have been press conferences ... so we are using all the channels available to us for clarification.
JGU: Recently, we have also started working with a new digital agency to manage our social media presence more professionally. For this specific topic, we will also increasingly rely on social media alongside newspapers.
Alexander Hobl (Marketing Manager at KTM Bike Industries and also present during the conversation, editor's note): And a very important factor is events. We will attend all major trade fairs and events, especially in Germany and Austria, to be present in the market and to provide clarification with appropriate staff at the booths. Because there, we can communicate directly with our target groups.

BB: Despite all the problems for KTM Bikes and the impacts on people and the region: Do the difficulties of the publicly listed giant perhaps also offer opportunities for the family-owned company of the same name? For example, regarding the shortage of skilled workers, especially as hundreds of employees of KTM AG and KTM Research and Development GmbH have been dismissed in Mattighofen alone?
SL: In principle, we do not want to profit from someone else's downfall. (Pauses thoughtfully) Like many others, we are also always looking for good employees. And we notice that the economic situation in general, independent of Pierer, has changed, and we are receiving slightly more applications. However, the selection is still challenging. You have to find the one who fits perfectly. But fundamentally, we do not see any advantages, no. Because it involves so many positions, impacts …

BB: In hindsight, one is always wiser, but was the insolvency at the end of November 2024 really as surprising as claimed by many parties and those affected? After all, there were consistently bad news circulating, from massive job cuts to a 27% drop in sales in just the first half of the year. Moreover, KTM Bikes had already approached several media outlets at the beginning of June to distance itself from the practices of Pierer Mobility AG, whereby bicycles of the brands Husqvarna, Raymon, and Gasgas, rumored to be labeled as KTM bicycles, were literally given away and handed over to employees free of charge.
SL: We not only informed the media but also immediately our dealers that it was not us who were giving these bikes away to KTM employees, and that we had no intention of doing so. However, this does not change the fact that these actions severely impacted the business foundation of regional trade. Over the course of two years, 11,000 bicycles were given away from here to Wels.
JGU: KTM Bikes is fundamentally established throughout Europe, with a significant focus on the German-speaking market. We can handle this. For regional dealers, it is certainly even more challenging.

BB: But to return to the actual question: Did you already suspect something was amiss due to this distribution campaign?
JGU: Well, these 11,000 given-away bicycles did indeed indicate very high inventory pressure. But currently, everyone has high inventory levels.
SL: Exactly, and what is high, what is very high? A stock level for twelve months, or one for 36? (Pause) I didn’t think so, because the figures that were announced were always very positive; it was one record after another. In that respect, it was indeed surprising for us, especially in terms of both the extent of the sales decline and the level of debt. But we also didn’t evaluate it.

BB: Currently, the name similarity is proving to be rather negative for KTM Fahrrad GmbH. That wasn’t always the case. In earlier years, the KTM bikes surely benefited from the positive image of the cult motorcycles, their worldwide recognition, and market power as Europe’s number one in terms of sales volume, ahead of BMW and Triumph.
SL: We hear that repeatedly, especially in connection with Paris-Dakar. But if you look at our sales curve (see image no. 16, editor’s note), the numbers don’t skyrocket after any triple or tenfold victory at Paris-Dakar, but rather, interestingly, from the first e-bikes of the new generation. That was in 2009, 2010. From that point until today, we’ve actually generated at least 30, sometimes even 40 or 50 percent of our revenue each year with products that didn’t exist the year before. So, we’ve distinguished ourselves through innovation pressure. The success of the last ten, twelve years, where revenue grew from 100 million to 500 or 600 million, has nothing to do with whether another Paris-Dakar was won or not.
JGU: Speaking of innovation: In 2009, we brought the first e-MTB to the market; then also the first e-kids’ bike, for which we were initially heavily criticized. And our focus on quality and reasonable equipment recently culminated in a triple win at Stiftung Warentest. These factors, combined with our sales team and personal connections to our customers and dealers, are all reasons that ultimately define the KTM brand in the bicycle sector.
SL: I’m sure that, for example, in Düsseldorf, people recognize the logo from bicycles, not motorcycles, because of our core clientele. 60 percent of our revenue, which may be good or bad, comes from almost always the same bikes: low-step frames with ten or eleven gears and Bosch motors. These are not models that have much to do with Paris-Dakar. In southern Europe, the brand might help us when we present a Kapoho or a Prowler to get into business initially. But ultimately, dealers buy what’s good. No one stocks a bad bike in their shop twice. And if we have dealers in Spain who’ve been buying KTM bikes for 20 years, it’s because they’re good bikes where price-performance and quality are right.

BB: Until a few years ago, the two KTMs seemed to get along quite well. However, with Pierer’s entry into the bicycle industry via the company Pexco, co-founded by KTM Industries, the cozy relationship came to an end in 2017. You sued him because the 1997 licensing agreement grants you the worldwide exclusive right to use the brand in the bicycle industry.
SL: Regarding all the incidents since 2017, it must be said upfront: for 25 years, there was a very peaceful coexistence, as we always call it. In the early years after the dissolution of KTM Motorfahrzeug KG into essentially two buyers—the Pierer side for the motorcycle division and the Urkauf family for the bicycle division—there were even mutual rentals, offices were shared, and productions were separated only by a wire fence. Then came the entry of the Pierer group, the motorcycle side, into the bicycle market, repeatedly using the KTM name or logo.
JGU: However, there are contracts in which a division of spheres was agreed upon. According to this, Mr. Pierer has the motorcycle sphere at his disposal, and we have the bicycle sphere, including everything related to bicycles, such as accessories, parts, add-ons, and also bicycles powered by pedals plus an electric motor.
SL: We always refer to it as a licensing agreement, but legally it is not just a licensing agreement; it is an industry division agreement. Therefore, only KTM Fahrrad has the right to use the KTM name, in any form, in the bicycle industry. And we are allowed to prohibit others from doing so.

BB: According to recent reports, the Pierer Group will also downsize its bicycle business: closing locations in South Africa, Great Britain, and Germany, retaining only California and Austria, reducing inventory, producing hardly anything new, or even completely discontinuing the Husqvarna and Gasgas brands, and selling the Felt shares as the only recently profitable division. Cynically speaking, are these good news for KTM Fahrrad GmbH, or is this irrelevant for the core issue, the general association of KTM motorcycles and bicycles?
SL: It’s hard for me to evaluate because, in principle, the trademark disputes, as well as the current situation overall, are not pleasant for Mattighofen. (Pause for thought) We want our trademark rights to remain intact. That’s important because contracts must be honored. And we will keep an eye on that.

BB: In your opinion, is Stefan Pierer’s enthusiasm for the neighboring segment over?
SL: Only Mr. Pierer can answer that.

On February 25, 2025, creditors will vote on the restructuring plan. In addition to fundamental decisions like continuation or liquidation, debt quotas, or the actual date for restarting motorcycle production, it will also determine whether Pierer New Mobility GmbH, which bundles the bicycle business, has a future. Does the seasoned expert in the bicycle industry have a forecast on this?
SL: No. And we cannot and do not want to give advice on what we would do in Pierer’s position. What we hope for, if the Pierer Group wants or is able to continue manufacturing bicycles, is that this happens even more independently of the KTM keyword. What exactly will come out on the 25th remains to be seen. In any case, we hope that it turns out as well as possible for the employees, for Mattighofen, and for the region.

BB: Then we’ll eagerly wait to see what Day X truly brings, wish KTM Fahrrad all the best for the next, likely still turbulent period, and thank you for the detailed conversation!