After taking a majority stake in the company in September, KTM’s plans to grow the GasGas brand into a fully rounded motorcycle company are coming into view after leaked documents revealed it is planning to develop a street bike range.
The Spanish company is better known for its off-road range of enduro, motocross and trial machinery, underpinned by a significant presence in the motorsport arena. Even so, given this is an area where KTM has a large presence as well, it begged the question as to what parent company Pierer Mobility AG had in mind when it essentially took control of earlier this year.
It seems its plans are more ambitious than perhaps we expected with a leaked model plan showing three brand-new motorcycles slated to join the range over the coming year.
Significantly these come under the ‘street’ umbrella, which will be something of a first for GasGas, including a naked and an adventure motorcycle using an 800cc engine, with another 250cc naked also in the pipeline.
Presumably, the ‘800’ is in fact a GasGas motorcycle based on the KTM 790 platform, with a Spanish version of the Duke and Adventure respectively. Interestingly, KTM evidently has global aspirations for GasGas because the 250cc looks set to be targeted at the Indian market.
Where does GasGas fit into KTM’s expansion plans?
There has been a steady flow of interesting developments emerging from KTM in recent months, ever since the parent company was spun off into the Pierer Mobility AG to better differentiate the brands.
At the time, it revealed GasGas would begin to be sold in dealerships alongside KTMs and Husqvarnas, but also suggested the Spanish manufacturing facilities would be utilised to develop electric motorcycles.
It comes as Husqvarna had its Indian-market launch this month with 250cc Svartpilen and Vitpilen models being offered, while further leaked documents show KTM will go ahead with a new range of 490cc twin-cylinder bikes.
It also has a manufacturing and platform-sharing deal with CFMoto that will accelerate in 2020 with the opening of a large new facility in China, plus its ambitious electric motorcycle plans with shareholders Bajaj Auto.
In short, not only is KTM itself seemingly determined to cover all displacement options ranging from 250 to 1290 – with everything in between – but that it is keen for Husqvarna and GasGas to share that space in the market too with its own interpretation of those platforms.
