Motorcycle Industry News

Klaus Allisat, 41, has taken over management of Husqvarna Motorcycles S.R.L. from Rainer Thoma, 42, on Sept. 1.

Allisat has worked for the BMW Group since 2003. He has been Vice President of Purchasing, BMW Motorrad, since 2008, and has also been responsible for Husqvarna Motorcycles purchasing operations.

Before joining the BMW Group, Allisat worked in various internationally oriented positions in corporate consulting with A.T.Kearney GmbH, Stuttgart and prior to this for Daimler Benz AG, Stuttgart.

After three years of managing Husqvarna Motorcycles, Rainer Thoma will now be taking up a new position at BMW Group headquarters in Munich.

Since the acquisition of Husqvarna MC by the BMW Group in 2007, the company has been separated from MV Agusta, a new R&D centre has been put into operation at the Husqvarna site Cassinetta, production and spare parts supply has been restructured and the company has pushed ahead with numerous developments for the Husqvarna Motorcycles product offensive now starting.

In spite of a difficult global market environment, Husqvarna MC was able to maintain a stable sales volume from 2008 to 2009 as compared to the competition.

With a sales decrease of only around 3 percent in 2009, the brand recorded a lower decline than any of its competitors.