TVS Kickstarts $200 Million Overhaul Of British Unit Norton Motorcycles
TVS Motor has appointed a new management at Norton Motorcycles as well as announced plans to launch six new motorcycles under the brand in the next three years.
TVS Motor Co. Ltd. has kickstarted an overhaul of sorts at the UK's Norton Motorcycles, four years after the Chennai-based automaker acquired the British marquee out of bankruptcy.
The maker of Apache motorcycles and Jupiter scooters plans to invest £200 million for product development at the Solihull, UK-based bikemaker, according to a statement on Thursday. That is expected to spawn at least six motorcycles over the next three years. The brand will first enter the US, Germany, France, Italy and India as part of its global expansion plans.
The revival plan was disclosed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, a motoring festival in the UK.
“Our vision, commitment and investment into the Norton Motorcycles brand is entering an exciting phase,” Sudarshan Venu, managing director at TVS Motor Co., said at the festival. “We look forward to sharing with motorcyclists across the world.”
The revival of Norton will be led by new management, which includes:
Robert Hentschel: The automotive industry veteran who once served as a director at Lotus Engineering, has joined Norton Motorcycles as CEO.
Richard Arnold: The former CEO of Manchester United football club has joined Norton as executive director in charge of global expansion.
Brian Gillen: The former R&D director at Italian motorcycle brand MV Agusta has joined Norton Motorcycles as chief technical officer.
Meghashyam Dighole: As senior vice president of new product and engineering, he will drive synergies between the Norton and TVS brands.
RM Chokkalingam: As chief operating officer, he brings with him the know-how of building BMW Motorrad motorcycles at TVS’s manufacturing facility in Hosur.
“The investment in R&D and leadership has us positioned to take six exciting products to countries across the world,” Hentschel said. “Our focus on design, driveability and details will maximise opportunities for Norton as well as those who choose our motorcycles.”
The Revival
Founded in 1898, Norton Motorcycles—along with Royal Enfield and Triumph Motorcycles, as well as BSA—was at the forefront of British motorcycling.
The first edition of the Isle of Man TT race in 1907 was won by Rem Fowler, riding a Norton motorcycle. The company pivoted to producing military motorcycles during World War II, as did others of its ilk.
The brand garnered further recognition when a young Che Guevara rode a Norton 500 cc—dubbed ‘La Poderosa’ or ‘The Mighty One’—for over 8,000 km across South America. The journey, chronicled in his memoir ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’, was formative for the Marxist revolutionary.
But the advent of the Japanese Quartet—Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha—in the 1980s sounded the death knell for these often temperamental motorcycles.
Norton changed hands multiple times, until India’s TVS Motor Co. acquired it in April 2020 from entrepreneur Stuart Garner. Garner, who had tried to revive the brand by relaunching the Commando and Dominator, was accused of financial fraud, which had pushed Norton into bankruptcy.
Since then, TVS Motor has invested £2.3 million into the development, manufacturing and re-engineering of the Commando and V4 platforms, as well as honouring customers of the erstwhile Norton Motorcycles UK Ltd.
“Norton’s heritage is vast, and plays a key part in our development as a global brand,” Executive Director Richard Arnold said. “It’s important for us to prioritise our customers, both in the present and the future—with new bikes and sales touchpoints.”
“The products currently in testing and development are exciting. I am looking forward to expanding their availability to local dealers in new territories and connecting with bikers to share the Norton journey.”
