BMW has bought dirt bike brand Husqvarna, in a deal thrashed out between Dr Herbert Diess, General Director of BMW Motorrad, and the Italian industrialist Claudio Castiglioni of MV Agusta.
The German maker has recently expanded into pukka dirt bikes with its 650 range, and the acquisition of Husky will give it some real muscle (and credibility) in this area.
Diess said, "With the Husqvana 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. This transaction also provides us with direct access to a worldwide sales network in the off-road segment."
The company says Husqvarna will continue to run as a separate business, with manufacturing continuing at its current centre in Varese, Italy.
Company facts & figures
BMW Motorrad produced and sold over 100,000 motorcycles for the first time (production: 103,759 units, delivery 100,064 units) in 2006. The production program includes only large-volume motorcycles over 500cc. BMW Motorrad is the largest European manufacturer in this segment. In 2006, BMW Motorrad achieved sales of 1265 million euros, with pre-tax profits of 66 million euros. BMW Motorrad employed an average of 2816 staff worldwide in 2006.
Husqvarna Motorcycles is part of the Italian company MV Agusta SpA and produced some 12,000 motorcycles in the capacity range of 125 to 610cc in 2006. The focus of the company's model program is on sporty off-road motorcycles which are equipped solely with single cylinder engines. Husqvarna Motorcycles employed a workforce of approximately 240 in Italy in 2006.
(Pic: Husky TC450)