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PSB reports that Textron-owned snowmobile and ATV manufacturer Arctic Cat has announced that some 65 employees have been laid off at its Thief River Falls , MN facility ( Nov 13 , 2024 ), with many of its hourly production workforce employees also being furloughed " until early next year " when production is expected to resume . A company quarterly report states that " lower anticipated consumer demand " for specialized vehicles and canceled projects were factors in the company ’ s decision to " reduce operating expenses through headcount reductions ."
Finally , some good news as the decade-long saga of the demise of the ill-starred Stuart Garland Norton motorcycles era continues to cause ripples in the UK . BDN has reported that pensioners who lost money from the Norton pension schemes have finally been compensated . More than 200 people who had been defrauded after former Norton brand owner Garner illegally invested their pension assets in Norton Motorcycle Holdings have had their money refunded by the UK ' s Pension Protection Fund , with more that £ 9.4m ( approx . $ 12m ) refunded .
Data from ACEM ( Brussels ) shows electric new motorcycle registrations ( all L-Category vehicles ) down by -25 % for the first ten months of 2024 at 21,165 units . Germany is down by -45.8 % ( 4,327 units ) and Italy is down by -29.9 % at 4,999 units YTD . Of Europe ' s ' Big Five ' national markets France is the largest and is the only one holding on to demand - though still down YTD by -2.0 % with 6,750 units sold . Registrations of L-Category electric mopeds are down in each of the ' Big Six ' markets for those types of PTWs at -21.8 % ( 38,681 units ). These are the low cc equivalent Powered Two Wheelers and the ' Big Six ' are Belgium , France , Germany , Italy , the Netherlands and Spain . Belgium is the largest of the six , with France second and the Netherlands third . This data excludes E-assist cycles - which is a much larger market in Europe , in unit terms , and one that is still believed to growing . The data gathered for that sector is ' patchy ' at best though as there are not many markets where conventional registrations are required and retail sales data , where available , is not reliable .
KTM Bankruptcy Protection Filing
PIERER Mobility AG is finally giving way to the inevitable outcome of the increasingly bad flow of news that has been coming out of Stefan Pierer ' s Austrian business empire since this time last year , with the wholly owned KTM AG subsidiary of PIERER Mobility AG filing for an Austrian equivalent of bankruptcy protection . In a November 29 application for ' judicial restructuring proceedings ' with what is termed ' selfadministration ' of its on-going trading and restructuring initiatives , it will buy itself the 90-days it says it needs in order to raise the " high three-digit million figure '" it requires to protect itself from its creditors . Failure to do so would ultimately result in a winding-up process that would see it facing a liquidation of its assets and , no doubt , a fire-sale of intellectual properties that would be much coveted in Asia . In the byzantine corporate structure that is downwind of Stefan Pierer , KTM AG is the business doing the filing , and the business where the financing is required . The management will have three months to find a ' selfadministered ' way forward - essentially a variation on the theme of a ' pre-pack ' solution , albeit one devised under legal cover . The aim of the proceedings is to agree a reorganization plan with the creditors within 90 days , and in a new generation of ' right sizing ' corporate jargon ' redimensioning ' of the group is the phrase being used . This is an attempt to try and make everyone think that ' all is okay , it is just a pesky technicality ', but it isn ' t . People are going to lose jobs . Dealers are going to lose their brand investments and all involved will lose money one way or another . " A ' redimensioning ' of production should lead to a gradual adjustment in excess stock at KTM and its dealers over the next two years . This will result in a reduction in operating performance at the Austrian sites totalling over € 1bn in the years 2025 and 2026 ." Having been on the receiving end of ' channel stuffing ' and over-trading there are no doubt many hundreds of dealers worldwide who will not be impressed with that time scale . " The restructuring process will result in additional potential losses , for example due to one-off expenses such as necessary write-downs ( e . g . for capitalized development costs ) and costs for staff reductions as well as the shortfall in fixed costs due to the reduced operating performance and other costs arising from the
Recently appointed KTM AG Co-CEO Gottfried Neumeister ( left ) with Stefan Pierer : " Over the past three decades , we have grown to become Europe ' s largest motorcycle manufacturer . Now we are taking a pit stop for the future . The KTM brand is my life ' s work , and I will fight for it ."
restructuring process . " Consequently , for the current 2024 financial year , the company expects a negative annual net result in the very high three-digit million range ." In a subsequent release , PIERER Mobility AG has described it as KTM AG taking a " pit stop " for the future as KTM AG implements " restructuring measures " - the management of KTM AG having assumed that " it will not be possible to secure the necessary interim financing in a timely manner ." Stefan Pierer , who is Co-CEO of KTM AG as well as of his eponymous holding company is quoted as saying : " Over the past three decades , we have grown to become Europe ' s largest motorcycle manufacturer . We inspire millions of motorcycle riders around the world with our products . Now we are taking a pit stop for the future . The KTM brand is my life ' s work , and I will fight for it ." In September 2024 Pierer fired four of the KTM AG board members from their executive posts - Florian Kecht , COO Rudolf Wiesbeck , Stefan Pierer ' s son Alex , and Hubert Trunkenpolz , grandson of KTM founder Hans Trunkenpolz ( the ' T ' in KTM ). Instead , Stefan Pierer had hired Gottfried Neumeister as a newly minted Company Doctor and advisor , Executive Board member and Co-CEO . Stefan Pierer states : " Gottfried
Neumeister has brought impressive experience and a breath of fresh air and has made a significant contribution to addressing the current situation . I am convinced that together we will get the company back on track for success ." A " simplified presentation " corporate structure chart issued in November 2024 shows Pierer Industrie AG owning 50.1 % of Pierer Bajaj AG , in addition to other holdings , including CP Carillo Pistons and Rods and Arias Pistons in Irvine , California . In turn , Pierer Bajaj AG owns 74.94 % of PIERER Mobility AG . It is PIERER Mobility AG that is listed on the Vienna and Swiss stock markets . The shares have plummeted to around the € 7.7 mark as at the end of November 2024 ( approx . USD $ 8.15 ), having been as high as € 101.88 ( approx . USD $ 106.37 ) as recently as February 2022 . It is PIERER Mobility AG that is the 100 percent owner of KTM AG , not Pierer Bajaj or Pierer Industrie , and it is KTM AG that is filing , not , as reported mistakenly elsewhere , the PIERER Mobility parent company . It is KTM AG that owns and operates the KTM , Husqvarna , GasGas and MV Agusta motorcycle brands and the relationships with CFMoto and ZEEHO electric vehicles . There are four additional business
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12 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - DECEMBER 2024 www . AMDmag . com