KTM Battles Back: Strong 2025 Sales Show Signs of Recovery — But There’s More to the Story
After a turbulent period marked by excess inventory and shifting market demands, KTM appears to be regaining traction in 2025. The Austrian motorcycle giant has just released its global sales figures for the first half of the year — and the numbers sound impressive on the surface: over 100,000 units sold worldwide between January and June.
But a deeper look tells a more nuanced story.
Inventory Overhang Still Looms
Much of KTM's recent sales momentum may be attributed to clearing out a massive inventory backlog, reportedly built up to over 250,000 unsold units. According to industry insiders, only about half of the 100,000 bikes sold this year were newly delivered to dealers. The rest were likely sold from older stock, suggesting that discount-driven clearance efforts are still in full force.
Earlier in the year, KTM rolled out aggressive promotions across multiple models, offering enticing price cuts to move aging stock. This strategy, while effective at boosting sales figures, hints at underlying supply chain and production imbalances that KTM is still working to resolve.
1290 Super Duke GT Still in Focus — But Where's the 1390?
Interestingly, KTM continues to heavily promote the 2024 1290 Super Duke GT, even after unveiling its more advanced successor — the 2025 1390 Super Duke GT — at events like EICMA and Motorcycle Live. Recent promotional content and videos from KTM still spotlight the older model, signaling a clear effort to push existing inventory before fully rolling out the next generation.
This could indicate a delayed retail release for the 1390, or a strategic decision to avoid cannibalizing sales of the remaining 1290 stock. For eager fans awaiting the latest version, that may mean a longer wait than expected.
What It Means for Riders and Dealers
For motorcycle enthusiasts, KTM's current sales strategy could mean bigger savings on high-performance models — especially for those less concerned about owning the absolute latest version. On the dealer side, the challenge remains balancing inventory clearance with fresh product rollouts, especially as KTM transitions into its 2025 lineup.
Whether this marks a true turning point for the brand or simply a temporary sales bump remains to be seen. But for now, KTM's efforts to stabilize and rebound are starting to show real traction.
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