Bajaj Gets Green Light to Completely Take Over KTM
India’s Bajaj Auto shook the motorcycle world recently when it announced that it had received regulatory approval for its takeover of KTM. Soon, the iconic Austrian motorcycle manufacturer’s business and production decision will be called from Pune, India.
In late October, Austrian financial regulators gave the green light to Bajaj taking management control from Pierer Mobility AG. In addition to KTM, Bajaj will also acquire all of its subsidiaries and related brands, such as Husqvarna.
For the time being, KTM will continue operating out of its traditional headquarters in Mattighofen, Austria.
The takeover marks the most dramatic turn in the 18-year-long Bajaj-KTM partnership. Having first acquired a minority share in KTM in 2007, Bajaj Auto until now held a 49.9% share in KTM.
The Indian automotive firm has assisted KTM with its recent financial difficulties, which imploded in 2023-24, leaving the company billions of dollars in debt. With Bajaj’s help, KTM implemented a restructuring plan in March 2025.
Bajaj invested nearly $921.5 million to help pay KTM’s creditors through various means, including a secured term loan and debt repayment.
However, KTM investors became concerned about the lack of transparency in Bajaj’s financial support plan and raised alarms of a potential takeover by the Indian firm. Bajaj exercised an exception in Austrian business restructuring law to acquire a majority stake in Pierer Mobility AG without issuing a mandatory takeover offer to shareholders.
Almost immediately following the takeover approval, Bajaj announced it would slash KTM workforce by 50%.
KTM had previously reduced its staff from 6,000 to 4,000, but Rajiv Bajaj, Bajaj Auto managing director, said in a CNBC TV18 interview that he still considered that number too high.
The upcoming job cuts will focus particularly on middle and top management, Mr. Bajaj clarified.
“Interestingly, of these 4,000, only about 1,000 are blue-collar; 3,000 are white-collar, which is perplexing because the blue-collar employees make the motorcycles. Future volume shifts will impact blue-collar employees relatively lightly. The issue will be with expensive white-collar headcount,” said Mr. Bajaj.
“The management overhead and bureaucracy in this otherwise excellent organization were astonishing.”
With the layoffs, Bajaj expects administrative, marketing, and research costs to fall by 50%. Additional restructuring measures will include close cost control and enhanced supply chain integration, Bajaj said.
In addition, Bajaj has also floated moving some of KTM’s manufacturing to India. Such a move would follow in the footsteps of other famous motorcycle marques—such as BMW, Ducati, and Triumph—who have all moved their manufacturing to low-cost countries.
Mr. Bajaj sharply criticized KTM’s former management, stating the company overproduced motorcycles despite a drop in demand post-COVID and ventured into unprofitable side businesses, such as electric bicycles. He also claimed the previous management made strategic and business decisions without following due process and informing KTM’s minority shareholders.
With this acquisition, Bajaj is positioned to expand its footprint in the European market. The Indian company also gains access to KTM’s advanced engineering and research and development resources, which it may use for its own Indian-only motorcycles.
Bajaj’s takeover of KTM is currently awaiting final approval of European Commission authorities.
The news of the takeover followed KTM’s announcement earlier in the fall that it would delay the manufacturing start date for several of its street and adventure models. According to KTM, the decision to push the start of production back came “as a result of the recent restructuring process.”