Only two years have passed since KTM joined the board of directors of MV Agusta after purchasing 25% of the shares of the Italian brand. Subsequently, in March of this same year, Pierer Mobility became the majority shareholder after acquiring 50.1% of the transalpine firm.
This acquisition also brought with it the dismissal of Timur Sardarov as general director of MV Agusta: “With the early acquisition of the majority and as a commitment to location and employee responsibility, Hubert Trunkenpolz, Member of the Board of Directors of Pierer Mobility AG, replaces Timur Sardarov as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Management, who will continue being available to the company as vice president, brand ambassador and consultant.”
The future of MV Agusta hanging in the balance
However, the last few months of KTM are not going as the Austrian brand expected, based on the latest decisions made by the company, Pierer Mobility, which highlights its policy of layoffs and a strong business restructuring, including its possible exit from the World Championship. MotoGP. With a debt close to 3,000 million euros and a motorcycle stock close to 150,000 units, things are not looking good.
The last person affected in this decision-making is MV Agusta, despite the latest statements from Hubert Trunkenpolzpresident of the brand, made at the end of this past summer where he explained the short and medium term solutions so that the Italian firm can be profitable, as well as competitive:
“First of all, we must consider that MV Agusta is very special in the market. MV will never be a brand of big numbers. But what is being built now is certainly very little. So we have to double the volume next year and reach 10,000 units, even if we have a production capacity of 13,000 to 14,000 units. It will take time to reach these latest figures, but I do not think that the MV brand, which is very premium, if not luxury, can sell more than this amount.”
Now, thanks to the Italian newspaper Varese News, we have learned the latest news related to the strategic relationship between KTM and MV Agusta, following the statements of Giuliano Zanetti, union representative of the Varese brand. This explains that: “If KTM fails, everything stops here too. Urgent responses are needed from the company.”
Continues: “Our concern is well founded because as KTM has the entire organizational part in its hands, that is, purchasing, sales and marketing, if the Austrians block everything it will also stop here in Schiranna.” From Moto.it they point out that both brands are trying to reach an agreement so that MV Agusta can recover internal production, distribution, marketing, storage and sales.
To this end, a strategic plan is being drawn up that could be implemented over the next 90 days. MV Agusta will have to depend solely on the motorcycles they manufacture and sell, without creating a stock in the warehouse. In any case, the Italian brand plans to be able to market around 3,000 motorcycles throughout 2025 and is already considering the possibility of launching the first batch of layoffs in consensus with workers and unions.
