Honestly, I thought things were going to start changing for KTM after Bajaj's takeover. The company, after nearly dying, seemed to be on better footing. Production resumed, albeit staggered, bikes started being built and sent to dealerships, and the vast majority of the austerity measures that made headlines in 2024 were being scaled back. And new-old inventory, bikes that were leftover from prior years but still new, were being pushed out.
There even seemed to be renewed vigor in the brand's MotoGP efforts, something that was rumored to be getting the axe ahead of the 2027 season.
But in releasing the brand's full-year sales numbers, the Austrian manufacturer isn't just not out of the woods, it's deep in that thicket, tangled in thorns, and possibly bleeding profusely. Sales, my dear readers, were really, really bad, as was its revenue, and there are still a lot of old bikes taking up dealership floor space. More importantly, cost reductions are still something the brand has to do in 2026, and that isn't good for anyone.
So let's dive into the numbers, as KTM released its "preliminary" 2025 stats. The company states these are preliminary, as they haven't been independently audited, so they could get better or worse depending on what occurs during that audit.
In its opening remarks, the brand states, "Bajaj Mobility AG reports on a financial year shaped by extensive structural adjustments and the implementation of key restructuring measures. Despite operational constraints in the first half of 2025, the overall annual trajectory shows a clear stabilization of the economic foundation." Emphasis mine, as that's an odd thing to state emphatically when just after that statement, the company reports that revenue was down a whopping 46%, and sales were down 28%. If that's a stabilizing trajectory, I feel like a new definition is going to have to drop real soon.
Of those sales, however, it gets even more interesting, along with slightly alarming.
According to KTM, it sold 85,284 motorcycles in the first half of the year, along with 124,420 in the second half. That doesn't sound too shabby, right? That's 209,704 motorcycles. But there are two caveats. First, 78,906 of those motorcycles are those bikes built by Bajaj—i.e., your 390s and lower. So subtracting those bikes, you're looking at 130,798, which is right around Harley-Davidson territory, who is also not doing so hot right now. Second, and far more consequentially, KTM doesn't denote how many of those 130,798 motorcycles sold last year were old stock, which the company had more than a year's worth sitting on lots at the end of 2024.
KTM does state, however, that "Groupwide motorcycle inventories were reduced by 101,153 units during the year – from 248,580 units at year‑end 2024 to 147,427 at year‑end 2025." So does that 101,153 old-stock reduction figure mean that out of the 130,798 total motorcycles sold were old bikes? It's unclear, but given production was all over the map and the company couldn't source parts for quite some time due to past payment issues with its suppliers, there weren't that many new motorcycles shipped to dealerships throughout the year. So it's more than likely, especially when you consider the drop in revenue wasn't a mirror image to the drop in sales, as selling older bikes would cause revenue to plummet faster than sales.
Moreover, in KTM's statements about 2026, more cost reductions are coming.
In its key takeaways section at the top of the disclosure, KTM states, "Outlook 2026: Focus on the motorcycle core business, efficiency gains through cost reduction, notable growth in revenue and unit sales planned." This is the brand's roadmap for 2026, what it aims to do. And while KTM noted that it had reduced headcount from 5,310 employees to 3,782 year-over-year, it doesn't explicitly state if anyone will be affected in the future or if those cost-cutting needs will continue. Part of those reductions, however, are likely thanks to the divesture of the X-Bow supercar line, the sell-off of MV-Agusta, and the shuttering of the brand's bicycle business.
Newly-minted CEO Gottfried Neumeister said in remarks, "In 2026, our clear focus is on the consistent and systematic continuation of the restructuring path we have set. We have made a strong start to the new year: our newly introduced models are being very well received, and our recent motorsport successes are providing additional momentum – visibly contributing to sales growth."
Whether that's being optimistic or trying to put lipstick on a pig, however, is still up in the air.
