KTM

KTM started in 1934, when 25-year-old Hans Trunkenpolz opened a metal and car workshop in Mattighofen, Upper Austria. Industrial motorcycle production began in 1953 under the company name Kronreif – Trunkenpolz – Mattighofen. Those three words are where the letters K, T and M come from. The KTM Motohall in Mattighofen tells the story from the 1953 R 100 onward.

In early 1992, Stefan Pierer and his company Cross Industries took over KTM. In 1999 a new headquarters went up on the edge of Mattighofen, with room for four production lines. The link with India's Bajaj began in 2007, first as a joint project on 125 to 390 cc street bikes. KTM added Husqvarna in 2013 and GasGas in 2019–2020. The group now has three core motorcycle brands. See the Husqvarna and GasGas pages for their own stories.

The 2024–2025 insolvency

On 26 November 2024 the parent company said KTM AG could not secure interim financing in time. The board decided to file on 29 November 2024 for court restructuring proceedings with self-administration. The filing covered KTM AG and two subsidiaries, KTM Components GmbH and KTM Forschungs & Entwicklungs GmbH. The sales companies were not part of it. The goal was a restructuring plan agreed with creditors within 90 days.

Production in Mattighofen stopped on 13 December 2024. It restarted step by step from 17 March 2025. It stopped again from 1 May to 31 July 2025 because parts were missing.

On 25 February 2025 the creditors accepted KTM AG's plan. It paid them a cash quota of 30% of their claims, due by 23 May 2025. The final cost of the quota across the three companies was EUR 525 million. Bajaj Auto International Holdings B.V. funded it: a EUR 450 million loan to KTM AG and EUR 150 million to the parent company. The Regional Court of Ried im Innkreis confirmed the three plans. They became legally binding on 17 June 2025, which closed the proceedings.

Stefan Pierer handed the management of KTM AG to co-CEO Gottfried Neumeister in January 2025. He then left the parent company's executive board in June 2025. In 2025 the group sold MV Agusta and the Felt bicycle business. It has also sold X-Bow and stopped distributing CFMOTO.

Bajaj takes control

Bajaj signed a call option with Pierer Industrie AG on 22 May 2025. Austria's Takeover Commission confirmed a restructuring exemption from a mandatory bid on 23 October 2025. On 10 November 2025 the European Commission said it would not open an in-depth review under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation. The deal closed on 18 November 2025. Bajaj Auto International Holdings B.V. became sole owner of Pierer Bajaj AG, which holds about 74.9% of the listed parent. The parent company describes Bajaj's commitment as an EUR 800 million cash injection in May 2025.

Shareholders approved the new name on 19 November 2025. On 13 January 2026 the commercial register recorded the change from PIERER Mobility AG to Bajaj Mobility AG, with its registered office moved to Mattighofen. That is still the name in the company's filings in August 2026. The shares trade on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the Vienna Stock Exchange under the ticker BMAG.

After the restructuring

In January 2026 KTM AG announced about 500 job cuts, mostly salaried and middle-management roles. The CEO also said the company would cut complexity in its model range. In February 2026 a bank group lent KTM AG EUR 550 million for five years to repay the Bajaj loan. Sales rose to 48,672 motorcycles in the second quarter of 2026, up 71.0% on a year earlier. The company also reported its first positive quarterly EBIT since the restructuring ended.

KTM's enduro bikes are built in Mattighofen. KTM's production page lists the whole enduro range among the models made at the main Mattighofen plant. It names the EXC, EXC-F, XC-W, XCF-W, SIX DAYS and HARDENDURO models for model year 2025. For 2027, KTM says the 300 EXC HARDENDURO is "designed, developed and produced in Austria".

Mattighofen is also the group's central development site. Other R&D sites are in Terrassa, Spain, and in the USA. Munderfing is the group's second Austrian production site.

Output fell hard during the insolvency. In 2023 the group's plants built over 380,000 motorcycles, 210,000 of them in Mattighofen. In 2025 KTM built 48,377 motorcycles in Mattighofen, down 67.1% on the year before. The group's R&D staff fell from 1,173 to 595 over 2025.

Not every KTM comes from Austria. Bajaj Auto builds the small-engine KTM and Husqvarna models in India. The group also builds some models with CFMOTO in China.

KTM announced the 2027 enduro range on 11 June 2026. It kept the existing chassis, WP suspension and engine platforms, with new graphics. Two-strokes use Throttle Body Injection (TBI). Here is how KTM's international and US sites list the enduro range today:

The international site also still lists the 2025 KTM 300 XC-W FACTORY EDITION. The cross-country XC and XC-F models sit in a separate family, with linkage rear suspension.

The hard enduro bike: 300 EXC and 300 EXC HARDENDURO

Most hard enduro racers use the 300 two-stroke. Our full model page is the KTM 300 EXC. KTM's 2027 figures:

The HARDENDURO adds a radiator fan, skid plate, frame protectors and front and rear disc guards. It also gets a clutch slave cylinder guard, a Supersprox Stealth rear sprocket and pull straps. Soft ODI grips, closed handguards and a ribbed seat come fitted, with Metzeler 6 DAYS Extreme tires on a factory wheel set.

The EXC and XC-W names split mainly on road homologation and market. Our guide KTM 300 EXC vs XC-W covers the details. The KTM 350 EXC-F has its own page. KTM's motocross bikes have their own pages: the 350 SX-F and 450 SX-F.

Road registration: the 2026 "Alibi-Zulassung" reports

On 26 May 2026, media in ten countries published a joint investigation into KTM enduros. The outlets included ORF, Der Spiegel, Le Monde and El País, and the whistleblower group Climate Whistleblowers coordinated it. The reports said dealers sold road-registered enduros in restricted form, then converted them to full power. That would void the road approval. ORF reported that KTM ships the conversion parts with the bike. It cited Czech University of Life Sciences tests: a de-restricted 300 EXC TPI exceeded the road emissions limits more than ten times over. Germany's Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt said it had opened an investigation. KTM told ORF that dealers make the changes only at the customer's explicit request, for competition. It said dealers tell customers the road approval then lapses.

If you need a road-legal enduro, keep it in its homologated state on the road. KTM's own statement, reported by ORF, is that the conversion ends the road approval.

KTM riders have won every FIM Hard Enduro World Championship and every Erzbergrodeo since 2022. The group counts 372 world titles for KTM up to the end of 2025.

Hard Enduro World Championship

The series began as WESS in 2018 and became an FIM world championship in 2021.

In 2021 Lettenbichler finished level on points with Bolt and took second. In 2023 he won all six rounds. In 2025 he clinched the title at GetzenRodeo, his fourth FIM Hard Enduro World Championship title in a row.

In 2026 he rides the KTM 300 EXC again. After seven of eight rounds he leads the championship from Mitch Brightmore (GasGas), 197 points to 165. He won Alestrem, Extreme XL Lagares, Forza Orza, Abestone and Sea to Sky. He took third at Silver Kings and second at the Roof of Africa, where Wade Young finished third on a KTM. The last round is Hixpania in Spain (23–25 October).

Red Bull Erzbergrodeo

Here are the Red Bull Hare Scramble winners on KTM machines, from the organizer's result sheets:

The 2026 win was Lettenbichler's fifth in a row. It tied Blazusiak's record run and the all-time record of five wins. Trystan Hart made it a KTM 1-2 in 2024 and 2026. From 2005 to 2026, the only other winning brands were Husaberg (2013) and Husqvarna (2015 shared, 2016, 2018, 2019), all with Graham Jarvis among the winners. More on the race: Red Bull Erzbergrodeo.

Red Bull Romaniacs, Sea to Sky, GetzenRodeo and more

• Red Bull Romaniacs: Lettenbichler won in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. His seventh win, in 2026 on the 300 EXC, tied Jarvis's record. He won by one hour and three minutes. KTM says he rode a 300 EXC TPI to his 2021 win.
• Sea to Sky: Lettenbichler won from 2024 to 2026 on the 300 EXC.
• GetzenRodeo: Lettenbichler's wins include 2021 (his third in a row there), 2023 and 2025.
• Red Bull TKO: Hart won in 2022 and Lettenbichler in 2024. KTM riders finished 1-2 both times.

PDS rear suspension

KTM's EXC and XC-W bikes have no linkage. The shock bolts straight to the swingarm, and the damping inside it gives the progression. KTM calls this PDS. The 2027 300 EXC uses a WP XPLOR shock with PDS and hand-adjustable high- and low-speed compression. KTM says PDS improves anti-squat and is "the most reliable and maintenance-friendly option" for enduro racing. Husqvarna TE/FE and GasGas EC models use a linkage. KTM's own cross-country XC bikes do too.

Our view: on slow rock and logs, PDS gives the simpler bottom end, because of its layout. Nothing hangs under the swingarm to catch a ledge, and there are no linkage bearings to service. Linkage gives more tuning room at speed. Our PDS vs linkage guide covers both.

Fuel-injected two-strokes: TPI, then TBI

KTM launched its first fuel-injected enduro two-strokes in 2018. They used Transfer Port Injection (TPI). For the 2024 range, which KTM described as 95% new, it switched to Throttle Body Injection (TBI). TBI was already on its motocross two-strokes. The Keihin 39 mm throttle body and ECU set the mixture from sensor data. A separate oil injection system means there is no premix. An electronic power valve lets the rider adjust fueling and airflow gear by gear. Our TBI vs TPI vs carb guide compares the three.

Chassis

The frame is a central double-cradle in 25CrMo4 steel. KTM says it is hydroformed, laser-cut and robot-welded, and built for lengthwise stiffness. The subframe is a two-part aluminum-reinforced polyamide unit. KTM designed it to bend in a crash rather than break. The fork is a 48 mm WP XACT closed-cartridge unit with tool-free clickers. The fuel tank is transparent polyethylene and holds about 9 liters.

Husqvarna and GasGas build on the same base, but with linkage rear suspension and their own parts choices. Our 300 two-stroke buyer's guide compares them with Beta and Sherco.