MANILA, Philippines – Ayala Corp., through its AC Industrial Technology Holdings Inc., is relaunching its KTM motorcycle business amid the positive market reception.
Ayala partnered with Austrian company KTM AG in 2016 to manufacture units for KTM motorcycles, an initiative that takes the conglomerate a leap forward in its goal of making the Philippines a major manufacturing center in Asia.
In a briefing Friday, AC Industrial CFO Felipe Estrella III said the company would expand the number of dealers to around 50 next year, from 22 currently. Of the 50, 10 would be full dealers and 18 would be sales offices.
The company will also start exporting to China this year. “We are looking to export 10,000 units,†Estrella said.
The conglomerate began manufacturing units of KTM motorcycles at its manufacturing facility in Biñan, Laguna with an initial run of 6,000 units. The factory started manufacturing the KTM Duke 200 and RC 200 models, which are KTM’s entry-level motorcycles.
Estrella said there has been a positive reception from motorcycle enthusiasts and other bikers.
The conglomerate ultimately hopes to grow to reach the plant’s full capacity of 20,000 units per year and export around 70% of production not only to China but also to neighboring ASEAN markets.
KTM AG is currently the fourth largest motorcycle producer in the world and the largest in Europe, with an annual production volume of 180,000 units.
Officials said auto manufacturing is a business that translates into more jobs, which can help achieve inclusive growth.
The automotive activities of the Ayala group are the responsibility of AC Industrial.
These include the 13% stake in Honda Cars, 15% in Isuzu Philippines Corp. (IPC) and wholly owned interests in Automobile Central Enterprise Inc. (Volkswagen’s official Philippine importer and distributor) and Adventure Cycle Philippines Inc. (KTM’s official motorcycle distributor).
Ayala Corp. posted 9% growth in first half net profit to 15.1 billion pesos, driven by strong contributions from its real estate and power generation businesses.
In the second quarter alone, Ayala posted a net profit of 8.1 billion pesos, up 2% from its level a year ago.
Ayala President and Chief Operating Officer Fernando Zobel de Ayala said the company was satisfied with the strong overall performance of its business.
The active portfolio management, new business initiatives and financial discipline that we have employed in recent years, supported by a healthy national economy, continue to support Ayala’s growth trajectory, he said.