Opinion: KTM will change after the Bajaj takeover

We finally have a clear answer to KTM’s future – Bajaj has ensured that it will survive! Regardless of how you feel about their bikes, you have to admit that it is good news when a leading motorcycle manufacturer is saved from the brink.

At the same time, I wonder what KTM’s identity is going to become. In the past, we’ve seen multiple cases where a big manufacturer has bought another one but mostly left them to their devices when it comes to brand identity. Tata-JLR, Volkswagen-Lamborghini/Porsche/Bentley and Geely-Volvo are all prime examples. 

However, there is one difference in this case that I keep coming back to. In most, if not all, of the above-mentioned examples, the takeover happened because the purchasing party wanted to execute the buyout. In this case, the buyout seems to have happened not particularly because Bajaj wanted to but because it had to. 

The point is that Bajaj had already invested a huge amount in its partnership with KTM over the past decade and a half, including a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Pune. The very real threat of KTM being shut down for good left too much at stake, and this takeover appears to have been Bajaj’s safest and perhaps the only course of action. 

Bajaj Auto is one of the most cash-rich two-wheeler manufacturers in the world, and the fact that it can easily afford to do this is without question. However, a year or two ago, the thought of them completely owning KTM never existed, and that’s what’s so interesting because these are two very different companies. 

A simple example would be the approach to motorsport. A huge chunk of KTM’s identity is forged by its mastery of motorsport, and the company reportedly spent nearly 100 million euros in 2023 across its racing programmes. Meanwhile, Bajaj has traditionally had almost nothing to do with motorsport in India, and that has only changed recently with some KTM Racing initiatives. A safe assumption is that there will be a reduction in these activities, but who knows? Maybe things could go the other way, and this could finally get Bajaj more interested in motorsport itself. Talk about wishful thinking!

Bajaj’s top leadership is composed of some incredibly intelligent folks, and I’d be a fool to assume that they don’t know what makes KTM KTM. But the fact is that this is a very alien way of doing business for Bajaj. Going forward, many things will surely change at KTM, and while I’m hopeful that they will be encouraged to continue making magnificently mental motorcycles, I wonder what will become of their massive motorsport presence. 

It’s already been an intriguing journey so far, and until Bajaj confirmed it, no one could confidently predict the outcome. In that same vein, there’s also no telling how Bajaj will proceed with running its newest acquisition, and for all you know, those answers probably haven’t been fully formulated within the Bajaj HQ itself. 

For now, all we can be is thankful to Bajaj for having stepped up and saved one of the most characterful and charismatic motorcycle manufacturers in history. And hope that it will serve as a good caretaker of those same qualities that have produced millions of orange fans.