Fifty years ago I watched a friend of mine buy a Norton Commando 750 roadster. I was envious. I was borrowing my friend’s Ducati Monza 250 at the time, and the Norton was fast, and sleek and blew my ride away. I had money down on a BMW R75/5 in 1971, when the dealer went bankrupt. In retrospect I was glad I had not bought the bike, as Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha and Suzuki were then making huge inroads into the market. However for Norton, since its heyday of fifty years ago, Norton has suffered serious setbacks in the market.
Ultimately in 2022, the company failed, and the India-based multinational motorcycle manufacturer, TVS (who interestingly enough, are planning to enter the North American market in the future) purchased Norton Motorcycles out of receivership and subsequently injected 170 million dollars (CDN) into revitalizing the brand. This year Norton will have an entirely new line of motorcycles for sale in Europe. Norton Canada is also selling motorcycles, although there is little information as to their availability. I’ve actually contacted Norton to inquire as to their availability, but as yet have no more information.
TVS shared a 19-year-long relationship with Suzuki aimed at technology transfer for the design and manufacture of motorcycles, especially for the Indian market. Since that joint venture, (now ended) TVS’s growth has been spectacular, producing 3.45 million motorcycles annually, or approximately twenty times more than Harley Davidson. New motorcycles, like the TVS Apache and Norton’s 961 Commando are entering the market in 2024, and TVS is now committed to becoming a major player in the European market.
TVS is being quite tight-lipped on the products, and simply calls the target segment the “super-premium” motorcycle segment. While this segment of the market has not grown appreciably in North America, the opposite is true in Asia. Motor Chief Executive Officer KN Radhakrishnan, told Autocar Professional, “We need to have a healthy product pipeline. We are now designing and developing, and putting those products in totality and it will take six to eight quarters to start completely realizing the benefits of that.”
Quality will be at the center of production. In Web Bike World, Dr. Hentschel stated, “The supply of some parts, and…the quality was not good enough, so I did not sign it off. I’d rather have a proper quality product here than customer complaints, which we cannot afford at the moment at this point of the journey at Norton.”
It would seem that TVS is committed to producing a quality product. To this end, Norton has expanded its UK distribution network, while offering new platforms, which will require between two and three and a half years to complete. It appears that TVS wants to offer a premium market segment.
Meanwhile, Norton is producing iconic motorcycles that throw us back to its heyday in the 1970s. Cafe racers are still being produced. They are deliberately old school and simple by design. Those of us who enjoy a purist’s motorcycle will find these bikes to their liking.
I’m looking forward to the arrival of TVS into the marketplace, which it is now rumoured will not happen in 2024. However, along with some other new technology manufacturers, TVS’s brands do appear to be headed for North American markets in the future, once European dealerships are up and running.
With growth booming in India and the ASEAN nations (sales up 22.3% in India, 12.8% in ASEAN nations, and 14.6% in Mexico and Central America, it’s only a matter of time before we see TVS in North America.
Ciao…
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