In 1934 an Austrian engineer Johann (Hans) Trunkenpolz[1] set up a metal working and locksmith shop in Mattighofen. In 1937 he started selling DKW motorcycles and Opel cars the following year. His shop was known as Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen but the name was unregistered. During the Second World War his wife took care of the business which grew mainly of diesel engine repairs
After the war, demand for repair works fell sharply and Trunkenpolz started thinking about producing his own motorcycles. The prototype of first motorcycle R100 was produced in 1951.[3] All of the components of the motorcycle were produced in house, except for the Rotax engines which were made by Fichtel Sachs.
its founded by -Hans Trunkenpolz
In 1953, businessman Ernst Kronreif became a sizable shareholder of the company which was then renamed and registered as Kronreif Trunkenpolz Mattighofen. KTM started serial production of R100 in 1954. With just 20 employees, motorcycles were built at the rate of three per day.
The company’s first title was secured shortly thereafter with the 1954 Austrian 125 national championship. KTM first made an appearance at the International Six Days Trials (Enduro) in 1956 where Egon Dornauer secured a gold medal. Racing continued to be a testing ground for production technology, but next in line was its first scooter, the Mirabell. It started providing a factory team for the ISDE in ’64. As the company continued to expand, the workforce totaled 400 in 1971, and forty years after it was founded, KTM was offering 42 different models
In 1955 Tourist 125cc model was developed. In 1957 KTM built the first sports motorcycle Trophy 125cc. KTM's first moped, called Mecky was launched in 1957, followed by Ponny I in 1960 and Ponny II in 1962. The 1960s saw the beginning of the bicycle production. Beside, KTM was also able to produce motorcycles for the racing industry.
Ernst Kronreif died in 1980. Two years later in 1982 Hans Trunkenpolz also died of a heart attack and his son Erich Trunkenpolz took charge of the company's management. Its name was changed back to Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen.[4] At that time, KTM had about 180 employee and a turnover of €3.5m.In 1988, US subsidiary KTM North America Inc. was founded in Lorain, Ohio. International business then amounted to 72% of the company turnover. In 1990, it was renamed KTM Motorfahrzeugbau AG.
Scooter and moped turnover sank rapidly, and production had to be halted in 1982. Erich Trunkenpolz died in 1989 and in 1991 KTM applied for insolvency. Its management was taken up by banks who split the company into four new entities in 1992:
KTM Sportmotorcycle GmbH, motorcycles division
KTM Fahrrad GmbH, bicycles division
KTM Kühler GmbH, radiators division
KTM Werkzeugbau GmbH, tooling division
KTM Sportmotorcycle GmbH started operation in 1992 and later took over the sibling tooling division KTM Werkzeugbau. In 1994 KTM Sportmotorcycle GmbH was renamed KTM-Sportmotorcycle AG.[5] In the same year it started production of Duke series of road motorcycles.
In 1995 KTM acquired Swedish motorcycle maker Husaberg AB,[6] and took control of the Dutch company White Power Suspension.[7]
In 1997 LC4 Supermoto and LC4 Adventure motorcycles are introduced by KTM.
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KTM-Sportmotorcycle AG is owned by KTM AG (formerly known as KTM Power Sports AG). In November 2007, Bajaj Auto Limited of India acquired 14.5% stake in KTM Power Sports AG and increased their shareholding to 47% by 2012 At present KTM AG is 51% owned by CROSS KraftFahrZeug Holding GmbH, a subsidiary of CROSS Industries AG[9] and 47% owned by Bajaj Auto. CROSS Industries is founded by KTM's current CEO Stefan Pierer
In present KTM-Sportmotorcycle AG has the following subsidiaries
KTM-Racing AG
KTM Events n Travel Service AG
KTM Dealer n Financial Services GmbH
Husaberg AB
Husqvarna
KTM started exporting their GS model to USA in 1968 through an American importer, John Penton under the Penton brand. This JV lasted until KTM established KTM America Inc. in Ohio in 1978.In 2005, KTM-Sportmotocycle began a partnership with ATV manufacturer Polaris Industries with the goal of shared R, and more importantly shared distribution networks. This partnership was a two-year trial arrangement, at the end of which both parties had the option of merging the two companies into one. In 2006, KTM announced that the partnership with Polaris had been downgraded, and would instead only supply their 450cc and 510cc RFS engines to Polaris
In January 2008, Bajaj announced that it would jointly develop two new 125cc and 200cc bikes for Europe and the Far East. The bikes would be badged KTM.[12] In January 2012, Bajaj launched the Duke 200 model in India.In 2015, KTM announced that it will invest US$5 million in a plant in the town of Campana (Buenos Aires), and begin production in Argentina, one of the models of their bikes, for which it will partner with SIMPA Group. Initially produce the KTM Duke 200, a motorcycle that the company plans to sell in the domestic market and the projection for 2015 it's produce six models in total.
Since 1990, KTM motorcycles and automobiles (X-Bow) have been designed by KiskaDesign, a Salzburg-based design firm. It is responsible for the overall branding for KTM; including the design of the vehicles, shops, exhibits and printed material.
KTM began in motorsports competing in motocross racing. KTM won its first championship in 1974 when Guennady Moisseev claimed the 250cc Motocross World Championship.[14] In the last few years KTM has gained more success in motorsports by dominating rally-raid events such as the Paris-Dakar Rally and the Atlas-Rally. In 2003, KTM started sponsoring and supporting Road racing in various capacities, with the most successful results stemming from their Supermotard or Supermoto efforts. KTM's new road racing focus will soon grow to include Superbike competition with the help of their newly developed V-Twin engine dubbed the LC8 as employed in the 950 Adventure dual-sport motorcycle, and more specifically the 2005/2006 990 Super Duke followed by the superbike contender known as the 1190 RC8. The Super Duke will have a higher output, second generation version of the LC8 engine, geared for high rpm peak power as required in road racing and superstreet applications while the RC8 will sport a 1,190 cc version of the LC8 for more midrange.
KTM riders took wins in every race of the Moto3 class during the 2013 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. The company won a third consecutive manufacturers MotoGP title during the 2014 Moto3 season. They also supply the spec bike for the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup.KTM offers a range of different engines for its larger motorcycles, all liquid-cooled.
KTM's official company/team colours are orange, black and silver. To create a strong brand identity, all competition-ready KTMs come from the factory with bright orange plastic with "KTM" emblazoned on the side of the radiator shrouds. All KTM bikes also come from the factory with a Motorex sticker on the outside of the motor. All first fills of oil come from Motorex as well. Some official KTM teams use different colors for their bikes, most noticeably in the Dakar Rally.KTM announced plans to launch a UK-based UCI Continental cycling team.[15] The team, known as KTM Cycling Team – Road and Trail.com, made its debut in 2014, albeit without UCI Continental status.[16] Subsequently in November 2014 it was announced that they would supply bikes to Team La Pomme Marseille 13 from 2015, with the team becoming Team Marseille 13 KTM.
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Wheeler, Adam#inthisyear1994: KTM is renamed KTM Sportmotorcycle AG
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Business n Industry (2011-10-20)"Bajaj launches Duke 200 in India, specifications"Gujaratglobal.com. Retrieved 2012-02-09.
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Clarke, Stuart (11 October 2013 "KTM to launch a new team in the UK"Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
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Scott Rousseau (19 June 2015) "2015 KTM Dual-Sport and Cross-Country Dirt BikesOff-Road.com. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
Steve Anderson (13 August 2012)"Two-stroke ResurrectionCycle World.com. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
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Duke, Olly (August 1994), "KTM Duke: supermotard styling strikes again", Cycle World, pp. 62 (2)