KTM opens new motorcycle design centre in Salzburg

KTM recently presented strong turnover figures for the third quarter of 2026 – it also reported an organic operating profit. The parent company, Bajaj in India, also posted very good key performance indicators. In Austria, KTM CEO Gottfried Neumeister has recently unveiled the new design centre in Salzburg.

The team is based with the design department in the Taxham district of Salzburg, in a striking office and hotel complex. This is the so-called Helix building, developed by Planquadrat, Soravia and Mayweg Immobilien. From now on, 30 employees will be working in one section of the Helix building on new KTM bike designs, some of which are moulded from clay models. The whole operation takes place across an area of around 1,000 square metres.

Mechatronics and electrical engineers are also working on innovations in the Helix building. Some of the workspaces are used flexibly. With Creative Director Christof Täubl, KTM has now brought its design expertise in-house, although it continues to collaborate with the long-standing design studio Kiska in Anif. Täubl himself was once an employee at Kiska.

“A bit of distance from the factory is good, so that ideas can really flourish,” Gottfried Neumeister explained to the *Salzburger Nachrichten* at the presentation of the design centre. Orange is set to remain the Mattighofen-based company’s signature colour, although, according to Neumeister, there is certainly scope for a bit of daring. The lead times for a new model are around two years.

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