KTM to bring Husqvarna and 690 Duke to India in 2 years

Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM Sportmotorcycle AG, is set to manufacture and launch Husqvarna bikes in India in two years.

The bikes will be built at Bajaj Auto’s plant at Chakan, near Pune. Bajaj Auto Ltd., which has a 47 % stake in KTM, builds the 125, 200 and 390 Duke. While the 200 and 390 are sold in India, the 125 Duke is exported.

Stefan Pierer, chief executive officer of KTM said “Our current focus is KTM bikes, but in the next two years you will see the Husqvarna bikes coming from the Chakan plant.”

Founded in Sweden in 1903, Husqvarna Motorcycles was a part of BMW Motorrad since 2007. Stefan Pierer acquired the brand from BMW in January 2013.

KTM also plans to launch the Duke 690 in India sometime in 2015. This naked street bike is powered by a 690 cc, liquid-cooled, single-cylinder, fuel injected unit producing 67 bhp mated to a 6-speed gearbox. Considering the bike weighs just 149.5 kgs, the 690 Duke promises to be a great performer.

It has a powder coated, tubular space frame made from chrome-molybdenum steel, WP suspension, upside down at the front, WP with Pro-Lever linkage at the rear and disc brakes on both wheels.

KTM is on a roll in India. Earlier, we had revealed KTM's plans of launching its full faired RC series in 2014.