Story & Photos By Ronald Rey M. de los Reyes
IF its founder back in 1934, Austrian engineer Johann “Hans” Trunkenpolz, was alive today, the expression above would have been the phrase he would repeatedly be uttering to every eager KTM fan around the world—which means: “Ready to Race.”
The brand has been synonymous to racing ever since it began joining motocross in 1974, when Guennady Moisseev claimed the 250cc Motocross World Championship. They have been on a roll, gaining more successes in the Paris-Dakar Rally, Atlas-Rally and Supermotard, to name a few.
KTM is known particularly for its two-stroke and four-stroke off-road motorcycles. In recent years KTM has expanded into street motorcycle production and developing sports cars. Of recent, expect the trademark loud orange-colored motorbike to be plying the streets of Metro Manila more often than not.
The adventure motorcycle company just announced the forthcoming opening of its flagship dealership in the country, not to mention the development of an assembly plant in Santa Rosa, Laguna. Just a month right after the Ayala Group of Companies trumpeted a joint venture between the Ayala Automotive Holdings and KTM AG, the newly formed Adventure Cycle Philippines Inc. (ACPI), the official motorcycle distributor of KTM, under Ayala Automotive Holdings Corp., gathered members of the media at Seda Hotel in BGC, Taguig City, conveying their plans for the Philippine motorcycle industry.
“Ayala Automotive is excited to expand its portfolio and enhance the group’s offerings to the market. We are excited by our entry into the motorcycle space and are in full support of this business,” said Ayala Automotive President and CEO JP Orbeta as he confirmed Ayala’s support and commitment to this endeavor.
“We remain committed as a group in providing the market the products and after-sales service it deserves,” he added. For starters, the KTM group already includes 39 subsidiaries, located in Austria, the United States, Japan, South Africa, Mexico and India, and in various other countries of Europe and Asia.
Through the joint venture with KTM AG, Ayala will now both serve as the exclusive local distributor of KTM products and as the manufacturer of motorcycles for the country, as well as for export to China and Southeast Asian countries.
ACPI aims to open 35 new dealerships with prospective partners nationwide. This is in addition to the seven current dealerships in the country.
The outlined chief dealership, meanwhile, is scheduled to open in Bonifacio Global City area in Taguig City by the third quarter of this year.
“Our goal is to penetrate all major cities in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao with KTM dealerships. We will ensure that our customers will have access to the full range of KTM motorcycles,” ACPI COO Dino Santos asserted.
With this, according to them, that aside from motorcycle service and maintenance made readily available in all the KTM dealerships, their showrooms will, at the same time, feature the full-model lineup of adventure motorcycles, including the MX, Enduro, Freeride, Supermoto, Travel, Naked and Supersport.
Simultaneously, Santos also divulged that an assembly plant is currently in its infancy stage, and is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2017.
The facility will have an annual production capacity of 20,000 units. As a kickoff, ACPI will first be assembling complete knockdown units of the Duke 200, Duke 390, RC300 and RC390 models. Eventually, as demand slowly builds, more parts will be sourced locally, which, in turn, will provide local employment.
“We expect production to increase year after year, as the demand in the country, as well as the region, also increases,” Santos added.
KTM Southeast Asia Managing Director Julian Legazpi, meanwhile, shared during the press conference: “We are excited to paint the Philippines orange with our esteemed partners—Ayala. Without a doubt, the country is now Ready to Race!”
And we’re sure, a proud Hans would feverishly agree.