Overheads to be reduced by up to 50% following EU approval of India acquisition of KTM's parent company.
KTM ke financial problems ko saamne aaye hue one year ho gaya hai. Uske baad Austrian brand ke liye kaafi months tak uncertainty rahi, jab tak inslovency court ne rescue deal approve nahi kar di, jisme creditors ne apne paise ka approx. 70% loss accept kiya.
Us arrangement ke under, KTM ko apne rest of the 30% debt ek fixed deadline ke under pay karne the. Iske liye unhe fresh investment chahiye tha, jo unhe €800 million (around Rs. 84,56,84,477) ke loan ke form mein mile Bajaj se, jo already unka minority shareholder tha. Plan ye tha ki agar government or related authorities se approval mil jaata hai, toh ye loan baad mein shares mein convert ho jaayega, or Bajaj ko KTM mein controlling stake mil jaayegi. Ab wo approval mil chuka hai.
KTM ek kaafi complex company structure ka part hai. Simple words mein bolein so KTM completely Pierer Mobility AG ke under aati hai. Or Pierer Mobility AG khud Pierer Bajaj AG ke under thi. Abhi tak Pierer Bajaj AG ka ownership aisa tha ki 50.1% shares Pierer Industries AG ke paas the or rest of the 49.9% Bajaj Auto ke European arm, yani Bajaj Auto International Holdings BV ke paas.
Ab bailout ke time jo €800 million ka financial package aaya, wo Bajaj International Holdings ne diya. Iske baad Austrian merger authorities or European Commission ne approval de diya ki jo loan tha usko convert karke acquisition bana diya jaye. Means jo 50.1% shares pehle Pierer Industries AG ke paas the, wo sab Bajaj ne le liye.
Iska result ye hua ki ab Pierer Bajaj AG completely Bajaj ke control mein aa gayi. Aur because Pierer Bajaj AG hi Pierer Mobility AG ko own karti hai, then ab wo bhi Bajaj ke under aa gayi. Pierer Mobility AG ka name bhi change karke Bajaj Mobility AG rakhne ka announcement ho chuka hai.
And finally, iska matlab yeh hai ki ab KTM, Husqvarna or GasGas bhi sab Bajaj ke hi under ho gaye hai.
Expect kiya ja raha hai ki isse KTM ke expenses slash karne ke liye kaafi serious steps liye jayenge, jaise staff mein changes, R&D, racing or production mein cutbacks. Bajaj ab company ki condition ko improve or track par lane ke liye action mode mein hai. October mein India ke CNBC-TV18 ko diye interview mein, Bajaj ke MD Rajiv Bajaj ne clearly bataya ki KTM ki problems ki root kya hai or unhe kaise fix karne ka plan hai.
Rajiv Bajaj ne company ke problems ka blame corporate greed pe daala. Unka kehna tha ki COVID ke baad jo thoda si recovery aayi, uske situation mein company ne kaafi zyada fast or wrong segments mein expand kar liya. That's the reason overproduction ho gaya, itna ki dealers or supply chain mein ek year se zyada ka unsold bike stock manufacturing plant mein tha. Moreover some wrong strategic decisions were also made, jaise electric bicycle business mein enter karna.
Haan, KTM ke costs bhi kaafi zyada hai. Rajiv Bajaj ne kaha from the outside ye dekhne par lagta hai ki overhead expenses ko 50% se bhi zyada reduce karne ka scope hai. Ismein R&D, marketing (racing tak) or all over operational areas cover hote hai.
Staff levels bhi kaafi discuss ho rahe hai, whether KTM ne last year apni workforce 6,000 se reduce karke 4,000 kar di ho. Interview mein Bajaj ne bola, 'In 4,000 employees mein se sirf approx. 1,000 blue-collar hai. Baaki 3,000 ehite collar hai, or ye thoda confusing hai, because bikes toh blue-collar employees hi manufacture karte hai.
Unka kehna tha ki main issue white-collar employees ke headcount ka hi hai, because wo kaafi costly hote hai.
Manufacturing ke point of view se dekha jaaye toh Bajaj pehle hi keh chuka hai ki wo zyada production India shift karna chahte hai. Anyway KTM ki small single-cylinder bikes jaise 125, 250 or 390 Duke already India mein manufacture hoti hai. Company apni parallel twin bikes China mein CFMoto ke saath joint venture ke through manufacture karti hai. In future aisa bhi ho sakta hai ki KTM ki two-cylinder bikes bhi India mein hi manufacture ho.
Rajiv Bajaj ne Triumph ka example diya, jahan UK ka manufacturing to an extent abroad shift ho chuka hai. Aaj ke time pe mostly modern Triumph bikes unki Thailand ki 3 factories mein manufacture hoti hai, or 400CC single-cylinder models India mein, Bajaj ke saath partnership ke under.