It's no secret at this point that a lot of European motorcycle manufacturers forge strategic partnerships with Chinese and Indian manufacturers in order to offer their products at more competitive prices in select markets around the world. We've seen it with BMW, teaming up with Indian giant TVS for the G 310 range, and Chinese manufacturer Loncin for the engines of the 800cc to 900cc lineup.
The same is indeed true for KTM, a brand which has seen massive global growth in recent years, largely thanks to its small to mid-displacement road bikes designed and manufactured in cooperation with Bajaj, one of India's biggest motorcycle manufacturers. While KTM has since built a partnership with Chinese manufacturer CFMOTO, the wheels on the KTM-Bajaj partnership continue turning at full speed, and almost the entirety of KTM's single-cylinder street bike lineup is produced using Bajaj machinery.
Indeed, bikes like the KTM 390 Duke and RC 390 opened the Austrian brand's doors to a wider selection of riders, and propelled it to stardom, particularly in the Asian market. In fact, the bikes have performed so well that the partnership has surpassed the one million motorcycle milestone. Spread across multiple markets across the world, the U.S. will be most familiar with KTM's 390 series, with the Duke and RC models, and more recently, the 390 Adventure, being popular among both beginners and veterans alike.
In Europe, the KTM 125 Duke and RC 125 are popular beginner-friendly models which are compliant with the region's strict licensing parameters. Meanwhile, the Asian market is home to KTM's 200 and 250 lineup, where bikes like the 250 Duke and RC 200 make for performance-focused commuters.
Bajaj Auto is also responsible for the revived Husqvarna 401 series, which consists of the Svartpilen and Vitpilen. The Asian market also offers 200cc and 250cc variations of the neo-retro street bikes. In the not-too-distant future, it's expected that KTM and Bajaj Auto will roll out electric models such as the highly anticipated E-Pilen, as well as an electric scooter based on the Bajaj Chetak platform.
