Norton smaller capacity motorcycles are a distant dream as the Joint MD speaks up on TVS’ immediate plans regarding the premium Brit brand…
Britain’s Norton Motorcycles has just got a new lease of life with TVS Motor emerging as its new owner. The troubled maker is known for its exotic and ultra premium motorcycles. Before the acquisition, it was making iconic brands like Dominator, Commando and the V4. In fact, it launched India-specific versions of these motorcycles in our country as well.
But with TVS Motor at the helm, it is naturally expected that the brand will move into the more mainstream motorcycle segments. When the world is trying to present mid-size motorcycles to gain more market share, Norton could also sneak in to make it a more accessible option for a vast majority of classic motorcycle enthusiasts.
However, Sudarshan Venu, Joint Managing Director, TVS Motor has ruled out any smaller displacement motorcycles emerging out of Norton for the time being. According to an online report, he has cleared that Norton will continue to remain a premium brand.
He said,
Norton is a brand which delights this unique segment of customers around the world, with these very high-end and powerful engines. So, the idea is to build on that legacy and those products, and focus on them for now.
The strategy looks clear – to stabilize with the current models that are under production or close to production, fulfill the pending logbook of waiting customers and streamline the functioning according to the new management. This will take a significant amount of time in itself.
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More specifically, Mr Venu elaborated..
The iconic brands like the Dominator, Commando and the V4, we have all the rights, and the IP we need to produce these, and we can get off the ground very quickly. All the engine rights that we need, remain with us, including the Atlas. Some versions of these engines do not meet the new emission regulations, so I’m not concerned about those. But whatever has the ability to go forward into Euro 5 and BS6 is with us, and with these we will be able to produce all the brands currently available and under development. Some of these rights have been sold away, but that does not concern the existing portfolio, or in-development portfolio that we have all taken over now
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This clears a lot of things – there won’t be any dilution of the brand and TVS will allow Norton to run as an independent and a premium motorcycle company with selective offerings for now.
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The production of Nortons will also not move to India and TVS will continue to use most of the existing employees of the brand to resurrect its past glory with which it was known for.
Source – Car and Bike
