TVS Buys Nippon Motorcycles

With not much going on in the motorcycle industry amidst the lockdown and with the industry struggling (which is the case for many other industries), TVS motorcycles recently brought some exciting news to the table. Norton Motorcycles, an iconic British motorcycle brand with a 120-year-old legacy has been bought by the Indian motorcycle brand that is known for its racing DNA, TVS motorcycles. They have taken up the task to revive the fortune of the brand that was in trouble for the past couple of years. Another blow to the company came in the form of an inquiry that put the company under the scanner for unpaid taxes.

Let’s understand what the historic deal is all about

.. directly from the horse’s mouth, TVS Joint-MD, Sudarshan Venu

Sudarshan believes that both the brands are similar in nature, not the least of them being innovation and racing. TVS Motorcycles want to reestablish Norton as a premium motorcycle maker with interfering with the way the iconic brand builds its bikes.

“I think the brand legacy of Norton, its iconic nature, unique sense of design, its connection with racing; these values of the brand and the loyal customer base excited TVS Motorcycle to have the opportunity to support Norton to regain this glory. Some of the products are quite interesting in the lineup, as well as some of the upcoming designs.

TVS Motorcycles wants to focus on the unique customer segment, develop products for that segment, cater to those customers, and delight them with a focus in the developing markets like India and later in the developed markets as well. Norton will be developed, designed, and managed from the UK at least for the next 6 months.”

About the Deal

TVS Motorcycles now holds all the brand and product rights that were at Norton along with the Global distribution or any decisions associated with the brand. They also have the rights to the legendary lineup of Norton which has the likes of Commander, Dominator, V4 along some other models that will be revealed in the time ahead.

Taking Over

With interim management already taken over lead by interim CEO, John Russell, TVS will appoint a full management team to start the operations and deliver motorcycles to those 300 customers who have paid for the product but are yet to receive it.

Other deal going sour?

The good thing is that their relationship with BMW does not get affected by Norton catering to a completely different customer group.