Like almost any other European country, Austria has its iconic automaking and motorcycle manufacturing brands. There are currently several large world-known bike brands in the country, which have a very strong reputation in the world’s market. An important thing about the Austrian moto industry is that it has always been there — the first brand, Punch, was established in 1899, which was earlier than many other legendary brands. Though the growth of the market started in the country in the middle of the 1990s, with the increase of the international popularity of such large names as KTM and Husqvarna.
KTM
Founded: 1934
Founder: Hans Trunkenpolz
Headquarters: Mattighofen, Upper Austria, Austria
Parent: CROSS Industries AG Bajaj Auto Limited
Subsidiaries: Husaberg Husqvarna
Website: www.ktm.com
KTM is a famous motorcycle manufacturer, founded in 1934 by Hans Trunkenpolz. Today the company is headquartered in Mattighofen, Austria. In 1992 the KTM Motor-Fahrzeugbau group declared bankruptcy and split into four independent companies, one of which is the iconic KTM Sportmotorcycle AG.
Today under the KTM brand some of the most popular sports motorcycles are produced for various types of racing. The KTM racers became champions of various rallies and marathons several times.
Husqvarna
Founded: 1904, Huskvarna, Sweden
Headquarters: Mattighofen, Austria
Parent organization: KTM
Website: www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com
Husqvarna is the motorcycle brand, which originated in Sweden in 1903, but moved to Austria after it was acquired by KTM AG in 2013. Husqvarna Motorcycles is a company that produces motocross, enduro, and supermoto racing bikes as well as dual-purpose bikes.
Today it is headquartered in Mattighofen, Austria. It traces its history back to 1903 when a subsidiary of the large industrial corporation Husqvarna AB appeared in the Swedish town of Husqvarna, and at the beginning of its history, it was specialized in making weapons, sewing machines, and even wood stoves.
Puch
Founded: 1899
Defunct: 1987
Founder: Johann Puch
Headquarters: Graz, Austria
Parent: Piaggio (1987-1997) Grimaldi Industri (1997 – 2011) Josef Faber 2011
Website: www.puch-bikes.com
Puch is a legendary Austrian motorcycle brand, which was established in 1899 by Johann Puch. Today the company is headquartered in Graz and produces not only famous bikes but also bicycles and city cars.
The company began making its motorcycle engines in 1901, the first car came out in 1904. In 1906 was created a successful two-seater car Puch Voiturette with a two-cylinder engine, and in 1909 the Puch car set a record in speed (130.4 km/h).
Motorcycles and mopeds were produced by the company until the early 1980s, then, because of the steady decline of the motor market, all production capacity was given to the production of Gelandwagens for Mercedes Benz.
Rotax
Founded: 1920
Headquarters: Gunskirchen, Upper Austria, Austria
Parent: Bombardier Recreational Products
Website: www.rotax.com
Rotax was established in Germany in 1920 and moved to Austria in 1943. The international popularity comes to Rotax in 1950 when Lohnerwerke GmbH began producing the Lohner Scooter. The Austrian company designed and created the two-stroke engines for the scooter. Later, in 1967, Rotax began producing engines for Bombardier, which launched off-road motorcycles under the Can-Am brand.
Husaberg
Founded: 1988
Founder: Thomas Gustavsson
Headquarters: Mattighofen, Austria
Parent: KTM
Website: www.husaberg.com
Husaberg is a small Swedish manufacturer that has been producing bikes since 1988. In 1995, this company was bought by KTM. Since then, the model range of both manufacturers began to have common features. In 2003, the motorcycle company moved to Austria.
In 2012, KTM completely changed the motorcycle lineup by applying the latest technology and development. The company has been producing off-road and supermoto motorcycles since 1988.
There were also two historical discontinued Austrian motorcycle brands — Delta-Gnom and Stey-Daimler-Puch. The first one was established in 1923 and closed in 1955, and the second one existed from 1864 until 2001.
Delta-Gnom
