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KTM Group Stops Motorcycle Production Due Lack Of Parts!

Although KTM AG recently outlined ambitious plans for the future during a rebooting process unveiled a few weeks ago, progress has not gone as smoothly as anticipated. Just days before a critical vote on the company’s direction, production has once again come to a halt due to a lack of funding.

According to European media sources, particularly GPOne, the core issue stems from supply chain disruptions. KTM relies on third-party suppliers—such as Brembo—for many of its motorcycle components, rather than producing everything in-house. A reported spending freeze is currently preventing the company from purchasing necessary parts, effectively stopping production since they can’t complete assembly without them.

While Pierer Mobility has not issued a press release confirming this situation, the development isn’t entirely surprising. It was already known that KTM’s financial struggles had begun affecting its suppliers, with some pushed into precarious positions themselves. Larger suppliers, such as electronics or tire manufacturers, may be able to weather the storm but are likely demanding guarantees of payment. Smaller, local factories, however, are hit much harder and may not survive KTM’s delayed payments.

Now, GPOne says KTM did indeed start production mid-March, as planned, but that they had to shut the Austrian factory down after making only 4,200 bikes. Considering the plan was to build 230,000 motorcycles this year, they’ve got a lot of catching up to do.

This is bad news, but it only sits as background to even more potentially significant news. While Bajaj (KTM’s largest minority owner, by far) contributed the €150M needed to resume production, KTM AG is still short hundreds of millions of euros. When leadership announced its restructuring plan in February, much of that plan hinged on KTM AG repaying its creditors to the tune of €550M by late May. It does not appear that, at this point, the money has been secured; indeed, the company’s early-April press release indicated half of KTM AG’s share capital had been lost. In other words—investors’ shares were losing their value drastically, and the company needed to raise new money. There will be a general meeting on April 25 (tomorrow) to discuss how this is all worked out, especially as to whether KTM needs funds beyond Bajaj’s €150M (with another €50M also potentially incoming from Bajaj).

This story is far from finished—in fact, even the beginning is still unfolding. In the coming months, it appears increasingly likely that KTM will no longer remain under Austrian ownership. There’s also a strong possibility that a significant portion of production will move away from Mattighofen. Bajaj, which already manufactures a large part of KTM’s lineup in India, could take on even more production responsibilities if it gains greater control of the company.

For consumers, there’s a silver lining: there’s still a healthy supply of 2024 KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas models available. So, even if 2025 bikes aren’t on the table, finding a brand-new ride this year shouldn’t be a problem. Ever since the company began openly addressing its financial troubles in late 2024, questions about its long-term future have been swirling. Unfortunately, without a crystal ball, it’s impossible to predict what will happen with parts availability, factory support, or other services. Based on our conversations with North American staff, it seems they don’t have many clear answers either. So, make your purchase decisions carefully—but from what I’ve personally seen, there are some excellent deals floating around in the KTM world right now.