The powerful Austrian business group Pierer Mobility has just given us some clues about what its short and medium-term future holds, with the registration of new trade names affecting KTM and Husqvarna with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States.
In any case, the company is committed to product diversification, offering its customers the latest developments in electric and combustion models. As we have learned, thanks to our colleagues at Motorcycle, Pierer Mobility is preparing a street variant of the current KTM Freeride for next season, as well as its Husqvarna counterpart under the Pioneer acronym.
The other highlight of these novelties is the long-awaited variant Vitpilen 801following the launch of its range sister, the Svartpilen 801. In short, an amalgam of models designed to cover the needs of all its customers, whether under the KTM or Husqvarna acronyms. In addition, using the best of two worlds as disparate as traditional combustion and new plug-in technologies.
Pierer Mobility bets on electric
We have to go back to the 2015 and 2016 seasons to put a Freeride variant on the map within the KTM range. Back then, in the SM version, the Austrian firm gave its most die-hard fans this possibility. Now it seems that Pierer Mobility will do the same with the new Freeride and Pioneer registrable, although in this case, powered by an electric motor.
This will offer a power of 5.54 kW (7.4 hp)presumably superior in terms of peak power. In addition, they will carry a state-of-the-art lithium battery along with a 660 W charger integrated into the power supply system itself. Stefan Pierer He explained in an interview last March that “Previous 320V Freeride models required a higher investment, both for manufacturing and distributors, to meet safety requirements.”
And he continued: “But 48 volts, as in the bicycle sector, can also be used in motorcycles or scooters up to 11 kW. As soon as this limit is exceeded, it is time to switch to high voltage and restrictions are imposed on production, logistics and distributors. So 11 kW is the limit we will be aiming for.”
It remains to be seen whether the new models Pierer Mobility They will either only be available in an Offroad version or will also be available in an SM variant. On the other hand, the arrival of the Husqvarna Vektorr, the conceptual scooter from the KTM group firm, is also expected. It will probably end up using the platform launched on the Bajaj Chetak, although with a reference image more closely linked to Husqvarna’s internal design.
