KTM had been doing well in the European markets for a while but the partnership of the Austrian car brand with the Indian bike manufacturer, Bajaj has somehow breathed new life into the brand. Within an year of the starting up of operations of the company in India, the brand has become the number 1 premium motorcycle brand in country. If you are wondering what qualifies as a premium brand in India, a bike which is priced north of INR 1,00,000 or around $1,900-$2,000 in the country qualifies as a premium bike.
The company managed to put 8,500 KTM Duke 200 on the Indian roads in the calendar year 2012. Since the company has been very well received by the Indians, the company intends on making it the country which would get the bikes in the first wave of countries whenever a new bike gets launched. The company along with this announcement, also announced what it had in store for the Indians and armoury is pretty well setup to start the onslaught.
Heading the launches will be the Streetfighter version of the KTM Duke 390 which will have a power output of 45 horses and shall be launched in the country in mid 2013 according to the company. The next in the line will be a RC8 inspired and Moto 3 racing bike inspired sportsbike, albeit with a smaller displacement and shall be launched in the country in early 2014. Though the company has not mentioned it explicitly, but we expect the faired KTM Duke 390 to reach the Indian shores as well in early 2014.
The RC8 the 1190 cc supersports racing bike will hit the 70 showrooms the company has as a display model and the company does not intend on selling it as of now in India. The company has been following up the sales with Orange Days and Orange rides to bring together the owners of Dukes. The company has had quite a successful 2012 in India as well as across the globe and the only direction they intend on going to from here is pretty much north.