What is the background to the Husqvarna deal and how did you feel about it?
Husqvarna was always the benchmark at the beginning. It was a competitor but one that was getting better year-by-year. In the mid-90s we took over Husaberg, which was a spin-off from the former Husqvarna engineers when they left the company as it moved down to Castiglioni and Cagiva. We got some experience and in 2003 we closed down the facility in Sweden and brought the operation done to Austria and it worked out very well. We were very impressed. Maybe Husaberg was partly the killer of Husqvarna because last year they sold 6000 units, more than Husqvarna for off-road because you have to discount some of their on-road models.
The experience with Husaberg as a second brand that was based on overlapping the main brand was useful and so was adapting the platform strategy from the car industry. In other words sharing engine and chassis components as much as possible. You don’t need addition R&D, purchasing and production. All is the same. After ten years I was 100% we could handle a second brand and then the possibility came up with Husqvarna.
Husaberg has one weakness. In Europe it is a brand and it is strong, but outside of the continent nobody really knows it. In the States it is unknown but that is not the same for Husqvarna. That brand brought the sport over to America and is one of the pioneers of motocross. It has a long history in the States and everywhere around the globe it is recognised. It is the second oldest motorcycle brand.
So the situation came at BMW where the company recognised they needed to focus with on-road through the crisis and they wanted rid of off-road. We always had a clear plan with what we would need to do and that would be to create a single brand so Husaberg will be merged and will disappear and Husqvarna will be the strong global brand for the future. With the platform we will redo some things on the Husaberg model and convert it to Husqvarna with the colours, graphics and technical improvements. For motocross we will use the KTM platform and you will see at the 2013 EICMA show that we will have a very strong competition line from Enduro and every displacement for motocross, meaning 250, 350 and 450, two-stroke 125 and 250 and all the models that Husaberg had for Enduro. Including a bike with the 690 single cylinder. It is a perfect model line, so the dealer can survive in the off-road segment. That gives us the chance to have a second distribution line against the Japanese. Husqvarna is strong on a global base to be able to attack the Japanese or to lift the Europeans against the Japanese; that is the concept.
Can you understand why some people might think ‘well, how can KTM succeed where BMW couldn’t?’
We can because of twenty years experience in the off-road niche market and industry. It is a very specific one and you need experienced people: the former racer, the skilled and knowledgeable technicians. Every small detail with hard and consistent work creates the right product. Secondly you have to understand the off-road community. It is a closed community and if you are not part of it then you are making a mistake.
Italy as an industrial base is one of the most difficult aside from France in Europe, because of the labour regulations. They are not competitive any more. First of all you need to pay a lot of money to have a nice Italian company and brand. Then you need to pay a lot of money to get rid of that company and that was the background with how I came to meet BMW. We have a close relationship because I appreciate BMW as a competitor and they are the closest in Europe. We have a big respect and different relationship. They were asking me if I was interested because they wanted to focus on on-road and I said ‘why not? Let’s sit together’. It was as simple as that. It sounds easy and it was easy. We are very excited now, especially when we think about the new model programme. For us in Mattighofen that means 15,000 additional bikes based on the same platforms. It is like the car industry with Volkswagen and Seat, Audi, Skoda. In the market the brands are separate but behind there are synergies and that is the only way to survive on a small scale and in that competitive industry.
What about the two brands racing against each other?
For sure! Competition keeps you alive. Sometimes you have success over so many years and it can become saturated and you start to lose ground. I think a nice, steered amount of internal competition is good.
So if Husqvarna run the right technology what do you then do with the brand? Especially to differentiate it from the ‘Orange’?
You have to have the brand content separate to KTM. KTM is perhaps a bit more ‘to the edge’ a bit more race-orientated. Husqvarna will come out as more historic, more Scandinavian, a little bit smoother. The design, as you will see in the future, will be a bit softer than the KTMs. They are focussing on the Supermoto type for on-road. There are a lot of niches that Husqvarna can occupy and become a serious player again.
Originally Posted by Stromper
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reunion party with the 'Berg team?
but i have a seafoam green 125cc scooter 
