Austrian manufacturer KTM’s aggressive expansion plans are set to kick up a gear following the opening of a new factory in Asia that is set to build 10,000 bikes each year.
KTM is Europe’s biggest bike manufacturer, selling over 180,000 bikes per annum, and plans to hit an annual production of 250,000 units in the next few years.
As part of this ambitious growth plan, the company has formed a new subsidiary, KTM Asia Motorcycle Manufacturing Inc, as a joint-venture partnership between Adventure Cycle Philippines Inc. owned by AC Industrial Technology Holdings Inc. (a member of Ayala Group of Companies) and Austrian motorcycle giant KTM AG. This company will produce the KTM 200 Duke, 390 Duke, RC 200 and RC 390 at its new, state of the art, manufacturing facility at Laguna Technopark in Sta. Rosa, Laguna in the heart of the Philippines.
The new site will initially start with a 6000 bike production run to supply the demand for small sporting bikes in the expanding ASEAN region before moving up to five figures in coming years. With neighbouring China the world’s biggest market for powered two-wheelers, the Austrian brand has made no secret that it would like to crack that market in the coming years.
“It seems like a frequent message from us but the opening of this new plant at Laguna and in the Philippines is another fantastic example of how we are managing to take the KTM brand to new corners of the world and touch fresh markets and riders; it’s a really exciting time of progression for the company,” said Hubert Trunkenpolz, KTM’s Chief Strategy Officer. “We want to thank the efforts of KTM Asia Motorcycle Manufacturing Inc. for this latest chapter in our story and it is important for us that we have the right – and best – presence in a part of the world where the motorcycle is such a prominent feature of everyday life. We’re very keen to see how the facility will develop.”
Dino Santos, President and Chief Operating Officer of KTM Asia Motorcycle Manufacturing Inc, added: “This investment is part of our belief that manufacturing should be a key driver of our country’s growth going forward,” he explained. “It provides jobs, supply chain opportunities, and helps put the country in the map as a centre for innovation and industrialisation.”
KTM added that it plans to open more than 30 new dealers in Asia in 2017, while planned new models like the forthcoming Duke 800 should further expand the brand’s appeal in the UK and other traditional European markets.
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