Husqvarna and Husaberg join forces
Husqvarna and Husaberg have quite a history between themselves. Husqvarna as a brand was formed in Sweden and towards the start of the 20th century, started manufacturing their motorcycles. However, all was not smooth sailing for the brand with sales starting to drop by the middle of the century. In 1977, they were purchased by household appliance magnates Electrolux but the ownership changed hands to Cagiva within 10 years. Under Cagiva management, some of the key Husqvarna employees were not so pleased and created a faction which we now know as Husaberg. In 1995, a financially troubled Husaberg was purchased by KTM. Then in 2007, BMW purchased Husqvarna which was sold earlier this year to KTM CEO Stefan Pierer's Pierer Industries. And now in 2013, both the rivals (Husaberg and Husqvarna) have joined forces.
In a recent statement, it was mentioned that Husaberg's world-class technology will be mated to Husqvarna's rich heritage. This may mean the doors can open for the award winning 70 degree engines which Husaberg had designed but in 2013 decided to shelve and switch instead to the conventional but lighter KTM engines. The new company formed out of Husqvarna-Husaberg's unification will be called Husqvarna Sportmotorcycle GmbH and will start operations from October 2013.
Work has already started on new Husqvarna motorcycles under the new organization and the company's new off-road lineup of Enduro, Motocross and Sportminicycles will be presented in November at the EICMA Motor Show in Milan this year. Husqvarna will also be developing new products in the Supermoto category, a segment where they have enjoyed tremendous success.
Husqvarna also says that the customer service and parts supply for their entire model range up to the 2013 model year will remain at Varese, Italy, Husky's current location.
Also rumours have abounded that Duke-based off-road motorcycles will probably form the basis of the bottom of the Husaberg-Husqvarna range with the latter brand likely to have an Indian presence at some point in the future, probably as a super-niche offroad motorcycle specialist.