Husqvarna and Husaberg are to re-unite under the Husky logo after 25 years of ‘separation’. Following two months of uncertainty about what would become of the Husqvarna brand after it was sold by BMW to Stefan Pierer of KTM, both companies (Husaberg & Husqvarna) have announced that they are to merge to form a single brand under the famous Husqvarna name with manufacturing located at the KTM factory in Mattighofen, Austria.
In a joint press release both companies confirmed the merge and revealed that they are working on new models in the enduro, MX and supermoto segments. The move brings to an end the existence of the Swedish Husaberg brand which was created by a group of disgruntled Husqvarna employees, upset at the famous Swedish marque being sold to the Italians back in the late 1980s.
They decided to launch and manufacture their own brand of motorcyle – Husaberg – which despite its relative lack of racing pedigree, went on to have more than its fair share of world championship success in MX, enduro and supermoto. Though ironically when the brand faltered a few years ago, it was purchased by KTM in Austria.
This move brings the story full circle and re-unites the brands once more – albeit, now based in Austria (rather than Sweden, Italy, Germany or potentially India). Interestingly the press release reveals that Husqvarna will be allowed to develop its own separate products with its own ‘exclusive design’ (although this doesn’t rule out the continuing use of KTM engines). Also in the press release is the pledge to honour all parts/warranty work etc for ‘all Husqvarna models up to and including model year 2013 [which are] guaranteed for the years to come and will remain at the current business location in Biandronno, Italy’.
So there it is, the short but acomplished life of the Husaberg brand seems all but over. As they did achieve some success across diciplines it's quite likely some models will now become collectable in 10-20 years time, after only 3 years of manufacture I guess it'll make the 2t Bergs a rather rare thing down the track. Is hard to beleive they were in business for around 25 years, albeit with ownership and management shuffles.
