NORTON Motorcycles has received a £100 million investment from its owners, TVS Motors, it has been announced.
TVS bought Norton in April of 2020, after it had been left on its knees following the mismanagement of the previous ownership.
Since it was taken over by TVS, Norton has opened a new manufacturing facility in Solihull, and that will be where the material output of this £100m investment will be produced, “using traditional hand-crafted techniques with modern-day machinery for consistently high quality,” according to TVS Motors.
Two of the bikes that will be produced in the new facility will be the newly re-designed V4SV, and the 961 Commando, and the investment is predicted to create between 250 and 300 new jobs directly.
“A world-class team led by Robert Hentschel is working to bring Norton back to its rightful place,” Sudarshan Venu, Joint Managing Director of TVS Motor Company, said.
Venu continued, “This investment will be towards electrification, cutting edge technology, world class vehicles, manufacturing, sustainability & the future of mobility. This is expected to create 250-300 direct jobs over the next 3 years and another 500-800 indirect jobs across the supply chain. The investments, spread over the next few years, will result in an exciting range of products for the global market.”
What exactly these new “products” will be remains to be seen, but TVS does say that its “global design and R&D hub [will form] a key part of Norton’s strategic growth plan on its journey to becoming a leading player in luxury and high-performance motorcycles.”
Either way, this is certainly a positive step for a brand that has been the subject of much uncertainty in recent times.
The announcement came last week, on 21 April, in conjunction with the visit of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to India.
Johnson said, “Trade and investment between the UK and India is creating good jobs and sustaining livelihoods in both of our countries. I’m very pleased that TVS Motor Company has decided to join the legions of Indian companies investing in the UK, boosting our future mobility sector and driving economic growth.”
