--- title: "BMW Wants to Buy KTM, Move Production to India: Rumor" date: "2025-02-24" modified: "2025-02-24" authors: - name: "Adam Ismail" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/adam-ismail" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/bmw-wants-to-buy-ktm-move-production-to-india-rumor" categories: - "BMW News" - "News" - "News by Brand" tags: - "BMW" --- # BMW Wants to Buy KTM, Move Production to India: Rumor ![KTM bike and car on track]() *Philip Platzer/KTM* Austrian maker of motorcycles and other thrilling machines with wheels, KTM, is [not in great shape]() at the moment. Its parent company, Pierer Mobility, which also owns Husqvarna's motorcycle business, agreed to court-supervised restructuring to avoid bankruptcy just last week. Creditors are due to vote on the restructuring plan on Tuesday; if they don't approve it, Pierer will find itself back at square one, where a familiar name may be waiting in the wings to scoop up the company and its brands. Yes, Austrian outlet *[oe24]()* reports that name is BMW Motorrad, which evidently has the endorsement of Pierer's insolvency administrator. BMW, for its part, dismissed the claim as "purely speculation" to *[RideApart]()* earlier today. But the part of BMW's supposed plan that's garnered the most attention is the rumor that it would close KTM's headquarters in Mattighofen, Upper Austria, and relocate R&D to Germany while sending all manufacturing to India. KTM already builds some models in India as well as China, but the vast majority of its products are [made in Austria](). The article presents this news with some concern, to put it mildly. Perhaps it's just Google Translate engaging in some editorializing of its own, but the *oe24* story attributes everything to a nameless "insider" and includes such panicked statements as "The bakery in Mattighofen as well as the countless suppliers in Austria will come away empty-handed" if the deal goes through, and that "If the 4,500 jobs at KTM in Austria are lost, Mattighofen will become an industrial ruin." Austria-based Oberbank—presumably one of Pierer's creditors—would prefer a [BMW]() acquisition, the way *oe24* tells it. Alternatively, existing management could remain in place buoyed by new financial backing, allowing KTM to continue more or less as we know it today once the restructuring plan is approved. Anything can happen, and we won't know KTM's fate until tomorrow. ![SEPANG, SGR - FEBRUARY 05: Brad Binder of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in action during day one of MotoGP Sepang Official Test held at Petronas Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Malaysia on February 5, 2025. (Photo by Hazrin Yeob Men Shah/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)]() *MotoGP rider Brad Binder rides his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing bike during a test in Malaysia earlier this month. *Hazrin Yeob Men Shah/Icon Sportswire** That said, it's hard to imagine BMW would immediately pack up Mattighofen and lay off everybody, considering the foothold KTM has at home. I don't know anything beyond what's been reported here, but the quotes in the *oe24* article read so alarmed that I wouldn't at all be surprised if they were leaked to the press by someone who *really* doesn't want the brand to become a BMW subsidiary. What's ironic about all of this is that such a deal would place Husqvarna in BMW's control, as it had been from 2007 until 2013, when Pierer acquired it. Pierer also became MV Agusta's majority shareholder [almost a year ago](), but then [fully relinquished control of the Italian brand]() to its other primary investor, the Sardarov family, late last month. It's been a messy few months for KTM indeed, one we're sure everyone involved would prefer to move on from—including the employees at the company bakery. *Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Adam is a Senior Editor at The Drive, concentrating on curating and developing the site's slate of daily journalism, from initial pitch to final copy edit. When he's not at his desk researching leads and working with writers, he's testing vehicles or reviewing racing games, new and old. He joined The Drive in 2023, following seven years of covering consumer technology and cars. A car lover and gamer since his earliest memories, Adam came to know the automotive world through video games. First it was Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Ridge Racer; then came Need For Speed, which inspired an encyclopedic knowledge of '90s supercars, and, of course, Gran Turismo. If not for them, he'd assuredly be doing something else right now. Adam is based in the suburbs outside Philly, where there are ample roads for his hot hatch to stretch its legs. In his car, he's probably listening to indie rock, drum and bass, or Yankees baseball. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()