KTM's financial malfeasance caused ripples across the entire motorcycling industry, affecting both large and small companies, blue and white collar workers, and throughout the racing world. Most of these waves have been bad for those affected, as you see MotoGP teams exiting the sport, small factories lose their sole client, and the workers who strived to build good machines cut loose.
It's been a veritable bloodbath of chaos since the Austrian company filed for insolvency protection, and was subsequently saved from bankruptcy by one of its larger partners, Bajaj. But the doom and gloom of KTM's core orbit hasn't had that effect on one of the brands that escaped its clutches early on in these goings on: MV Agusta.
The Italian marque saw KTM purchase a controlling stake in the company in the middle of last year, only to find itself in the financial pickle it became embroiled in by the end of the year. As such, MV Agusta's control was sold back to the Saradov family, which took it into quiet mode following the return. Not much has come out of MV since, other than it was moving its design headquarters to Varese.
Now, however, they're starting to talk, and the mood is one that says, "No, we're actually great! We're even working on a new motorcycle." Very 2000s breakup, MV Agusta. In fact, I'm surprised there isn't a MySpace update with Jojo's Leave (Get Out) playing in the background.
"The official transfer of full ownership from PIERER Mobility AG to Art of Mobility, is approaching its final stages," states MV's release, adding, "This marks a pivotal step in the company’s strategy to reaffirm its independence and strengthen its position in the global motorcycle market." So yeah, take that Stefan Pierer!
The company further stated that it's "embarking on a significant expansion of its international operations." And that it's "preparing to open independent regional offices to manage its key markets in Europe, America, Oceania, and Asia." More than that, however, is that while it's continuing to play nice with KTM to source the parts it shared and sourced from the brand, MV is "finalizing an agreement with a leading global logistics partner to manage its entire spare parts supply chain—from warehousing to last-mile delivery. This initiative aims to guarantee spare parts delivery worldwide within seven working days of order placement. The transition to a fully independent spare parts distribution system is expected to be completed by the end of 2025."
But it's further down its press release that things get juicy in terms of new pretty motorcycles, the thing the brand's known for.
"MV Agusta is in the final stages of developing a new model, set to be unveiled just before EICMA 2025," says the company, adding, "This motorcycle will represent a breakthrough in its segment, featuring only 1% carry-over parts from the previous generation, underlining MV Agusta's commitment to innovation and excellence. Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, development is well underway on additional new models, with plans to renew the entire product range and enter new market segments."
That's a tantalizing sneak peek, for sure, but it gets better as MV states that it's also working on a new engine platform that redefines "hyper-performance" and that the engine itself will also debut before EICMA this year.
So take that, KTM!
I'm honestly stoked to see what MV Agusta is cooking up, as the brand has been known for making some of the most beautiful and raucous motorcycles on the planet. And there's a reason why Formula 1's Lewis Hamilton has his own line of bespoke limited edition MV Agustas. They're just...chef's kiss. Plus, after covering the mess that is KTM, it's nice to see a company actually succeed after it.
