KTM Under Emissions Scrutiny Over Enduro Derestriction Claims - New Dieselgate?

Bajaj-owned Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM is facing regulatory and reputational pressure in Europe after a cross-border investigation by French newspaper Le Monde and several partner media organisations alleged that its road-homologated enduro motorcycles were routinely derestricted before being handed to customers.

The reports claim that KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas branded enduro models were certified to meet European emissions and noise standards, then subsequently reconfigured for higher performance at the dealer level. The Mattighofen-based manufacturer has firmly rejected the allegations, stating that any competition-oriented conversion is carried out only after purchase and at the explicit request of the customer.

What The Investigation Claims

According to the Le Monde-led investigation, reporters visited KTM dealerships across France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Personnel at multiple dealerships reportedly described a consistent process whereby homologation-related restrictions were removed from enduro motorcycles prior to customer delivery.

The reports further allege that KTM facilitated these modifications through factory-supplied parts, software, or dealer-level procedures. If accurate, this would mean motorcycles were certified in a restricted configuration before being reconfigured to operate at emissions and noise levels above those recorded during the official approval process for the purposes of off-roading and racing.

No European regulatory authority has publicly concluded that KTM violated homologation or emissions rules at the time of the publication of this article.

KTM's Response

In a statement published on its official website, KTM AG described the reporting as rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of how enduro motorcycles are designed and commercialised. The statement reads: "KTM AG firmly rejects the allegations made in recent media reports that KTM is placing illegal motorcycles on the market. The KTM Group sells its motorcycles exclusively in compliance with applicable European regulations.

The reporting is based on a fundamental misunderstanding: At their core, enduro models are sports machines that, in their homologated delivery condition, are also permitted to be ridden on public roads.

This dual-use capability is intentional, necessary, and standard across the industry: In order for enduro machines to participate in official competitions, they must be delivered in a homologated condition in accordance with the regulations of the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM).

This is neither a KTM-specific practice nor a procedure that would give KTM any undue competitive advantage over its peers. All KTM-, Husqvarna-, and GASGAS-branded enduro models leave our factory exclusively in a road-legal, homologated condition.

At the customer's request, these machines can be configured by the authorized dealer for competition and off-road use after purchase. Buyers of our enduro machines are expressly informed that road approval expires upon conversion for competition use, and that the vehicle may no longer be used on public roads.

The enduro models sold in Europe account for approximately 3% of KTM's global sales.

The emissions issues raised in the reports also warrant an objective assessment: According to the German Federal Environment Agency, motorcycles account for approximately 0.3% of total CO₂ emissions in Germany. Enduro competition models represent only a small fraction of this. Their annual mileage is many times lower than that of street motorcycles, as they are used for only a few hours per year in sport and training activities."

A Dieselgate Echo, Or A Different Beast?

The Dieselgate scadal saw Volkswagen writing software that detected test conditions and switched the engine into a clean mode it never used on the road. That was hidden inside 11 million cars sold to people who had no idea about the software.

What Le Monde is describing with KTM is a dealer removing a restrictor plate at the customer's request, handing them a form that says the bike is no longer road-legal, and sending them off to race. So, no, this is not another Dieselgate style scandal.

The truth is that this is how the enduro segment has always worked, across every brand that sells into it. FIM rules require the bikes to be road-legal at delivery. Everyone in the industry knows what happens next, if a rider chooses to go down the racing route.

If European regulators want to revisit that arrangement, that is a conversation worth having. But singling out KTM, a company that just survived insolvency and is trying to get back on its feet under Bajaj, for a practice that is standard across the segment feels less like accountability and more like a case of bad timing for the Austrian firm and maybe just a bad news day.