For a company that lives by the motto “Ready to Race,” KTM wasn’t exactly ready for the financial faceplant it found itself in. The Austrian brand, best known for its aggressive orange machines and factory-backed dominance in everything from MotoGP to motocross, has had a hell of a time lately.
And for a while, it tried to play it cool—like the rider who’s just crashed but insists they’re fine while clearly severely concussed with a few broken ribs to boot.
The latest development, however, is that after only a few short weeks of resuming production at its Mattighhofen facility, it's once again pausing production due to supply chain constraints, read: its suppliers aren't too sure of its survival and didn't want to send them anything on credit. But in all this, it's somehow still doing factory tours? Or, at least, it was.
But let’s rewind a bit.
In late 2024, KTM’s parent company quietly entered self-administration—a fancy term for “we’re broke but trying to fix it.” At the time, they downplayed the severity, suggesting it was all just part of a “financial restructuring” to keep up with growth and changing market demands. You know, business as usual.
But as details started to leak out, the truth was hard to ignore: KTM was drowning in over €3 billion of debt, development work on MotoGP bikes was paused, and layoffs were sweeping across the board. Not exactly the image you want from a brand that positions itself as a high-performance powerhouse.
To their credit, KTM didn’t let the wheels fall off completely. In February 2025, they got their creditors on board with a plan that would see them repay just 30% of what they owed—roughly €548 million—in exchange for staying afloat. But to make that happen, they’d need an €800 million cash infusion, some of which came from shareholders, the rest still TBD. The race to secure that funding is still very much ongoing, and time’s ticking.
So no, KTM isn’t “back” just yet. It’s more like limping through the paddock, hoping the sponsors don’t notice.
And yet, amid the financial chaos, KTM is doing something kind of remarkable: doubling down on its racing projects and continuing to run fan-facing events like the Inside KTM Factory Racing tour. That’s right, despite the debt, the layoffs, and the MotoGP development freeze, the company opened up its racing HQ in Munderfing to the public.
The tour, which kicks off at the KTM Motohall in Mattighofen, includes a museum walkthrough, lunch at the themed Garage restaurant, and a rare behind-the-scenes look inside KTM’s motorsport department. Guests get to stand on the same floors where championship-winning bikes are born, talk to the people who build them, and get a peek into what it takes to run a top-tier racing outfit. It’s intimate, it’s immersive, and—it must be said—it’s a little surreal considering the company is still in the middle of its financial survival arc.
The Motohall itself isn’t in the clearest of positions either. The third-party company that runs staffing for the facility filed for insolvency earlier this year, adding more fuel to the “how long will this last?” fire. KTM has stayed quiet about the future of the space, but for now, the doors are still open, the lights are still on, and tours like this one are very much still happening.
In fact, the June 4th event is already sold out—and maybe that’s not surprising. When something you love feels like it could disappear, you start to appreciate it a little more. There’s another tour lined up for July 16, and fingers crossed, KTM will still be around to host it. Because for all its current troubles, there’s still something undeniably compelling about seeing where the magic happens. Especially when you know it almost stopped happening altogether.
Source: KTM
