Britain has had a rich and famous motorcycling history with brands like Royal Enfield, Triumph, BSA and Norton. Born in 1898 as a manufacturer of fittings and parts for the two-wheeler trade, Norton was founded by James Lansdowne Norton. The company was producing its first Norton motorcycles in just four years with the help of Swiss and French engines. By 1908, it was producing the first Norton-engined bike.
Norton became famous through its association and successes in motorcycle races like the Isle of Man TT. Between 1930 and 1937, Norton won 78 out of 90 grand prix races. One of its models was even used by the British police in the 1980s. Over the decades, the company has seen multiple owners come and go, the latest being businessman Stuart Garner, who took over Norton in 2008.
Now, Norton has been snapped by TVS Motor Company. The Tamil Nadu-based company has a four decade-long history of its own, manufacturing mopeds, scooters, motorcycles and even three-wheeler autorickshaws.
TVS will pay 16 million pounds (around Rs 153 crore) for acquiring Norton, its first such acquisition of a foreign brand.
“Norton is an iconic British brand celebrated across the world, and presents us with an immense opportunity to scale globally,” said Sudarshan Venu, joint managing director of TVS Motor.
Venu says the acquisition is in line with its efforts to cater to the aspirations of discerning motorcycle customers.
“We will extend our full support for Norton to regain its full glory in the international motorcycle landscape," he added.
In January this year, Norton went into administration, reportedly struggling to pay a tax bill. TVS will have its task cut out and it is an uphill road ahead.
Another iconic British brand, Enfield, was acquired by Eicher and under Eicher CEO Sidhartha Lal, it has been one of the most successful turnaround stories in the motorcycle industry.
Back in 2017, Triumph announced a global partnership with Pune-based Bajaj Auto, with plans to deliver mid-capacity (200-750cc) motorcycles. That partnership formally commenced earlier this year.
In 2016, another Indian conglomerate, Mahindra & Mahindra, acquired BSA, another British motorcycle brand. Mahindra also owns France’s Peugeot Motorcycles and has a brand licence to manufacture the famous Java brand of motorcycles.
The Dominator and Commando have been among the most famous motorcycles from the Norton stable. The company will compete with the likes of Aprilia, Harley Davidson and MV Agusta.
TVS is the fourth-largest two-wheeler maker in India and it also has operations in various southeast Asian, African and Latin American countries.
Norton can leverage TVS’s global reach and supply chain capabilities to expand to new markets, said the maker of Apache motorcycles and the Jupiter scooter.
“TVS Motor will work closely with customers and employees in building the success and pre-eminence of the Norton Motorcycles brand and we look forward to growing together globally in the years to come,” said Venu.
Norton will continue to retain its distinctive identity with dedicated and specific business plans, he added.
Norton had joined hands with Pune-based Kinetic Group to jointly produce and sell Norton motorcycles in India in 2017. With TVS now acquiring Norton, what happens on that front will have to be watched out for.
TVS also has an alliance with BMW Motorrad aimed at the mid-segment. The Apache RR310 was the first motorcycle to roll out through the alliance.