Norton’s rebirth continues, as TVS, the new India-based owners, have pumped a £100-million investment into the company. That works out to well over $160M in Canada-bucks, and that means we expect to see great things from this company in the coming years!
TVS is hardly a well-known name for North American riders, but maybe it should be, as many of us are already familiar with its products. TVS manufactures BMW’s G310R and G310GS motorcycles, and is building ties with the German OEM to crank out more machines in the future. Of course, in TVS’s home market of India, it’s an absolute giant, cranking out thousands and thousands of bikes for any market segment you can imagine.
And now, TVS appears poised to bring Norton back to its former glory, building the fastest Brit bikes available. Although the company’s future was in doubt after ex-CEO Stuart Garner steered it into tax trouble (and steered himself into trouble with the law), TVS has dumped a pile of money into it, and has made a real effort to make right the management’s previous wrongs. TVS has also invested into new manufacturing facilities in the UK, and a new R&D centre. It’s trying to do this properly.
We expect the first motorcycle produced under new management to be the 1200cc Norton V4 SV. However, going forward, it seems the plan is to build electric motorcycles under the Norton name, which is hardly surprising, since government regs are pushing manufacturers in that direction and the UK government in particular seems keen to boost battery bikes.
That’s a big turnaround for the company. Only two years ago, it looked like it was headed out of business. Twenty years ago, it was dormant, with Kenny Dreer looking to revive the name as he rebuilt old Commandos. A lot has happened since then, and it seems the brand will thrive once again as it has big bucks backing it.
