MV Agusta has issued a statement addressing recent speculation, much of which has been laced with misinformation about the iconic Italian brand’s future, including an unconfirmed forecast that beleaguered KTM AG, which holds a controlling 50.1% stake in MV, has already decided to divest its stake amidst its own financial spiral and insolvency proceedings. 

The widespread reports also suggested that MV Agusta is grappling with instability due to unsold inventory and that independent management and production responsibilities are being shifted from Austria back to the brand’s headquarters in Varese, Italy.

Most importantly, MV Agusta emphasizes that its operations never left Italy in the first place. “All decisions, development, and operations related to MV Agusta happen in Varese,” the statement affirms. As for its motorcycles, including the brand-new 931cc triple-powered Enduro Veloce adventure bike (initially dubbed Lucky Explorer 9.5) we just reviewed, MV underscores that every stage of its creations — from prototype to production — takes place in Varese, allowing the company to “proudly claim to be truly Made-In-Italy.”

Furthermore, all commercial operations, including sales, after-sales, customer service, and marketing, are fully managed directly from MV Agusta’s headquarters in Varese, Italy.

As for the notion that MV Agusta has been cast aside by KTM’s parent company, Pierer Mobility Group — which in addition to KTM, also owns Husqvarna and GasGas — MV emphasizes that it remains entirely independent of KTM’s current challenges and is, in fact, thriving under its own management.

The rumors seem to have originated from a December 9th report published by Confindustria Varese, an organization representing and advocating for industrial and service companies in the Varese region. In the report was a statement implying someone representing KTM had stated that MV Agusta is “no longer considered a strategic asset.” 

And that may very well be the case, as the once-mighty KTM struggles to stay afloat following a series of missteps and camshaft failure-related customer relations issues that have significantly impacted the brand. However, the final outcome remains undecided, and according to MV Agusta, it will have a say in the matter, and in the worst case scenario of a share sell-off, the company will be just fine.

If you take its recent statement as fact, MV Agusta is not only fine, but prospering For example, in 2024, MV Agusta sold 4,000 motorcycles, marking a 116% increase in  annual growth, a far cry from a staggering 27% loss reported by KTM just halfway through the year. By July, MV reports they had already matched the total sales volume of 2023, and in October alone, it received as many test ride requests as they did throughout the entire previous year.

The statement goes on to inform customers that MV Agusta’s dealer network currently includes 219 points of sale, 41 of which are service points, alongside 20 non-European importers. It has plans to reach 250 dealers by the end of 2025, and has already inaugurated two new dealerships this month — one in Como, Italy, and the other in Montpellier, France. MV also reports its spare parts operation is equally robust, boasting 99% availability for models produced in the last seven years and achieving a record-breaking year for parts sales. 

While MV’s response doesn’t specify the extent of any unsold inventory, a problem many recreation-focus industries are grappling with amidst the whiplash effects of pandemic-driven demand and subsequent inflation-related backlogs, it does paint a pretty picture using its Superveloce 1000 Serie Oro as an example. MV produced just 500 units of its new superbike, priced at a staggering  €70,700 (currently $74,265 USD) yet only 20 units remain unsold at the time of MV’s statement.

It further explains that every MV Agusta motorcycle and spare part produced in Varese is shipped from strategically placed logistics hubs in Austria, the United States, Japan, and Australia, ensuring seamless global distribution, making it sound as though channels, all the way from its factory to customer’s garages, are flowing freely, rather than drowning in stagnant inventory. 

MV Agusta couldn’t have seen what was coming when it first joined forces with Pierer Mobility back in the summer of 2022, entering a collaborative agreement that would allow the storied Italian manufacturer to access KTM’s extensive distribution network in North America. By fall of that year the relationship had intensified with KTM acquiring a 25.1% stake in MV — a capital infusion, at the time said to have been traded for more control over the Italian maker’s operations, and finally, by March 2024, Pierer expanded its ownership to a 50.1% majority stake.

You would think this means KTM has the Italian motorcycle manufacturer under its complete control, yet timing might have been on MV’s side, as the Austrian giant had yet to fully integrate its latest acquisition into its portfolio before all hell broke loose in Mattighofen.

To further assure customers both faithful and aspiring, MV reminds us that not only did it introduce nine new models this year, it is forging ahead with the development of a next generation lineup — “a completely new, innovative range [that] no one outside the company has yet seen.”

The statement concludes by affirming that the MV team in Varese, Italy, remains the driving force behind these achievements and will stay firmly in place, despite significant restructuring within its Austrian parent company. According to MV, business operations in Italy remain unchanged, and outside owners — which in the past have included Cagiva Group, Harley-Davidson, and Mercedes, among others — has never interfered with the independence that defines MV Agusta as one of the world’s most iconic, premium-crafted motorcycle brands.

Author: Jamie Elvidge

Jamie has been a motorcycle journalist for more than 30 years, testing the entire range of bikes for the major print magazines and specializing in adventure-travel related stories. To date she’s written and supplied photography for articles describing what it’s like to ride in all 50 states and 43 foreign countries, receiving two Lowell Thomas Society of American Travel Writer’s Awards along the way. Her most-challenging adventure yet has been riding in the 2018 GS Trophy in Mongolia as Team AusAmerica’s embedded journalist.