Along with their purchase of rights to the BSA marque last week, Indian vehicle manufacturer Mahindra has also made a similar deal with JAWA.
For s history lesson on JAWA, check out Wikipedia here. In a nutshell, JAWA was one of eastern Europe’s leading motorcycle manufacturers until the 1990s; the company is still in existence, but is a shadow of its former self at this point.
The deal does not give Mahindra JAWA’s plant machinery and model lineup; it gives Mahindra the rights to sell bikes under the JAWA name in India and other Asian countries. Reports say the plan is for Mahindra to develop JAWA as a premium brand in those markets, sold in its own dealerships, instead of alongside more budget-minded models under Mahindra’s brand.
At this point, Mahindra owns the rights to sell BSA, JAWA, and Peugeot motorcycles, as well as their own brands, which makes us wonder: Are they planning to build a zombie army? And when the results of this retro revival hit the market, what will the end products be like — will end users enjoy the melding of classic styling with modern manufacturing, or will they be rejected as cheap copies of the original? Stay tuned!
Mike Paley Jawa Jawa
We had Jawa motorcycles in India and it used to b very well known there, petrol heads restore them to perfection and these days it cost a bomb to buy a good one ! i dont think it is a bad idea to buy old/dying brands at all. Indian automobile giants are really good at it and best proof is Land Rover & Jaguar acquisition by Tata !
Crazy, but maybe s good idea for them in the Asian market. Not sure how many people heard of Jawa in Asia though. They make the motors for most ice speedway motorbikes.