KTM’s Post-Bankruptcy Surge: 71% More Bikes Sold Before You Noticed
Bajaj Mobility AG — the holding company behind KTM, Husqvarna, and GASGAS — posted its first positive EBIT since completing insolvency restructuring, the company confirmed in its half-year financial report released August 27. That milestone, combined with a 71% jump in motorcycle sales to 48,672 units in Q2 2026, puts hard numbers behind what had been cautious optimism: the turnaround is no longer a promise, it’s a result.
For riders who spent the past year wondering whether their brands would survive, the report answers the question plainly. Inventory is back to healthy levels, new models are shipping, and the motorsport program — the part that keeps the engineering sharp and the brand identity intact — is winning. The numbers aren’t a fluke, and the product pipeline makes that clear.
What the Financial Results Actually Mean for Riders
EBIT — earnings before interest and taxes — is the cleanest measure of whether a company’s core operations are profitable, stripped of financing costs and one-time accounting items. Bajaj Mobility AG reported EBIT of EUR 1.3 million for Q2 2026, compared to a loss of EUR 164.7 million in the same quarter last year. That swing of EUR 166 million in a single year is the operational reset the brands needed.
EBITDA, which adds depreciation and amortization back into that figure, came in at EUR 32 million with an 8.7% margin. Think of EBITDA margin as a measure of how efficiently the business converts revenue into operating cash — 8.7% signals the company is generating meaningful cash from its day-to-day operations, not just treading water. Total group revenue reached EUR 370.2 million, up 60.5% year-on-year, while motorcycle revenue specifically more than doubled to EUR 307.3 million.
About 75% of that margin improvement came from higher revenues — more bikes sold at better volumes. The remaining 25% came from cutting overhead costs by EUR 56.9 million year-on-year, achieved partly through a reduction of around 500 positions in salaried and middle-management roles. CFO Petra Preining described the result as “a strong foundation for profitability and cash flow” — measured language, but meaningful given where the company stood twelve months ago.
New Models Are Shipping and the Product Offensive Is Real
Eight new KTM models launched in Q1 2026 alone, including the 990 RC R TRACK, 890 SMT, 890 Adventure Rally, and the updated 125–390 Duke range. Q2 followed with the 1390 Super Duke RR, the limited-edition 1390 Super Duke RR TRACK, and the rally-inspired 450 Rally Replica. The Enduro and Motocross ranges were also comprehensively updated for the 2027 model year, and Husqvarna refreshed its Motocross lineup with new TC and FC models.
Worldwide dealer inventory has been reduced by 10,190 units since the start of 2026, bringing stock back to stable levels. That matters practically: bloated inventory during the insolvency period created uncertainty about pricing and availability. Clearing it out means dealers are working from fresh allocations, and the bikes arriving now reflect the current product offensive rather than pre-bankruptcy carry-over stock.
CEO Gottfried Neumeister put it directly: “Backed by our new models and our motorsport successes, we are well positioned for a successful future.”
Motorsport Wins and the MotoGP Expansion Signal Long-Term Investment
Luciano Benavides won the Dakar Rally for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, giving KTM its 21st Dakar title. Daniel Sanders leads the W2RC Rally-Raid World Championship after winning three of the first five rounds. Billy Bolt claimed his sixth consecutive SuperEnduro World Championship for Husqvarna. Josep Garcia and Andrea Verona took the EnduroGP World Championship titles in Enduro1 and Enduro2 respectively for KTM. Manuel Lettenbichler won the Erzbergrodeo for the fifth consecutive time and leads the Hard Enduro World Championship.
Those results matter beyond trophies. Motorsport is how KTM and Husqvarna develop and validate the technology that flows into production bikes — suspension tuning, engine management, chassis geometry. A company cutting corners on development would pull back from racing first. The fact that the program is expanding, not contracting, is a concrete signal of where investment is going.
On the MotoGP side, Álex Márquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio will join the KTM factory team for the 2027 season, and the Tech3 satellite team continues under Günther Steiner. The Red Bull partnership, now more than 20 years old, has been extended through a new multi-year agreement.
New Leadership Brings BMW Motorrad Engineering Expertise to KTM
Christof Lischka, formerly Vice President Development at BMW Motorrad, joins KTM AG as Chief Technology and Product Officer on October 1, 2026. He will oversee R&D, vehicle development, and the product portfolio — the roles that determine what the next generation of KTM, Husqvarna, and GASGAS bikes look like. Hiring from BMW Motorrad, one of the benchmark names in premium motorcycle engineering, is a statement about the direction the company intends to take.
Stephan Reiff had already joined as Chief Commercial Officer on April 1, 2026, taking responsibility for marketing and sales. With both commercial and technical leadership now in place, the executive structure looks like one built for growth rather than crisis management. The second half of 2026 will focus on further stabilizing profitability, portfolio optimization, and managing component supply risks — the kind of forward-looking priorities that only make sense when the immediate survival question has been answered.
For KTM, Husqvarna, and GASGAS riders, the message from these results is straightforward: the brands are investing, the bikes are shipping, and the racing program is winning. The insolvency chapter is behind them. What comes next is the product.
Related posts
Latest Post
No Comments