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"We're not giving up on
two-strokes," is something you may have heard KTM
leadership say during the OEM's recent dealer meetings.
Now, further underlining KTM's
commitment to the engine configuration, KTM CEO Stefan Pierer says the
company has initiated the development of even more powerful, quieter
and less-polluting two-stroke powerplants — which by design are
lighter, easier to work on and less expensive than four-stroke
engines.
"At KTM the two-stroke will
continue to remain an integral part of the future model
planning," Pierer says. "It was always clear to us that the
two-stroke engine would play an important role."
Pierer points to the more than 20,000
KTM customers who opted to buy a two-stroke in the past financial year
as evidence for the continuing demand for such engines. He also
emphasizes the benefit such an engine design has for young riders.
"Here we are speaking about a very influential target group of
consumers for whom the two-stroke is unbeatable in terms of efficiency
and costs," he says.
While some major OEMs are promoting a
vehicle lineup comprised entirely of four-strokes, expect KTM to
continue to dabble in multiple engine configurations: two-stroke,
four-stroke and even electric. "There will be good opportunities
for all of this technology," Pierer says. "Also, with the
range of engine development, we must consider a market situation that
will be more intensely specialized and directed toward niches."
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