BMW Buys Husqvarna
BMW has announced they will acquire Husqvarna Motorcycles, the manufacturer known for building rugged, off-road bikes as seen in the seminal 1971 film On Any Sunday.
Dr. Herbert Diess, General Director of BMW Motorrad, and Claudio Castiglioni of MV Agusta (which currently owns Husqvarna) signed a contract on July 19th to initiate the sale; final approval will depend on European Union cartel authorities.
Diess says that, "With the Husqvarna models targeted at the sporty competition, we will be able to extend the BMW Motorrad range to include younger groups of customers as well as the entire off-road and supermoto sector much more quickly and effectively than with our core brand alone."
While BMW has dabbled in the off-road market with its rapidly expanding line of enduro bikes, the acquisition of Husky should enable near-instant leverage in this growing segment. BMW says they plan to operate Husqvarna as a separate enterprise, and that operations will remain at their current location in Northern Italy.
Stay tuned for updates on BMW's intentions to build more Ultimate Offroad Motorcycles.
Comments
Castiglioni is systematically closing the Cagiva group down, a pity really, it was a good brand. He is probably glad to get some more cash in the bank.
For BMW, not such a great move, the Italian bike they should have bought is Aprilia. BMW is in dire need to get away from the Rotax engined bikes and take the lead again. If they bought Aprilia they would instantly have had it in the form of the new and great small V twins that Aprilia launched, and more are in the works, like the new v four. The new RXV bikes are a sensation on the dirt, and people want V twin bikes, for all the right reasons. The new BMW bikes are nice, but the 650 single has to go.
If BMW has any dreams of taking on the real leaders, KTM, then they need to do better than Husqvarna. Maybe they got it for a bargain price, but I just don’t see it as a huge benefit to BMW.
Does anyone knows how much was the acquisition?
Glad to see BMW acquire Husqvarna. BMW is looking to further their off road sector and Husqvarna can benefit from BMW’s dealer base. Twins are nice, however in off road racing the Thumper is King…
Very smart acquisition - Husky is a outsanding brand with a long history of building great bikes. (even since it has been in Italy) Aprilia would have been a BAD mistake. BMW are smart players in the motorcycle industry that see the value in the Husqvarna marque.
P.s. to above comment -
I have a KTM, but I wish I had a Husky.
I’ve seen more and more Huskys in the last two year and they win they’re share of races against KTMs - very good bikes.