British motorcycle brand Norton, owned by TVS, to launch in India – Report

Norton holds the trademark of four motorcycle names in India, and the brand is expected to debut here in the near future.

In April last year, TVS Motor Company acquired British motorcycle manufacturer Norton. Now, according to a recent media report, TVS may be planning to launch the British brand in India. There is no specific timeline as to when Norton will debut in our market, but it should happen in the near future.

Norton currently holds the brand of four names in India: Norton Commando, Norton Altas, Norton Manx and Norton Fastback. The manufacturer specializes in mid- to large-capacity retro-themed motorcycles, ranging from 600cc to 1200cc. This makes it a natural competitor to Royal Enfield, which is currently planning to expand its range into the 350cc to 650cc range in the Indian market.

TVS is not the only Indian two-wheeler manufacturer with plans to capture the premium motorcycle market in India. Hero MotoCorp has partnered with Harley-Davidson and will manage all of its operations in India. Even Bajaj seems to have plans in that direction, and he had even registered a trademark for Excelsior-Henderson, a former US-based motorcycle brand, last year in India.

With Norton, TVS may be able to enter the high-end motorcycle market in India. However, Royal Enfield currently dominates this space, and TVS would have to work extremely hard to be able to break RE’s grip on the segment. It would be interesting to see what TVS has in store for us.

Currently, the largest motorcycle in the TVS lineup is the Apache RR 310, which was co-developed with BMW and shares its platform with the BMW G310 R and G310 GS. It is powered by a 312.2cc single-cylinder, liquid-cooled reverse-tilt engine. This engine is capable of generating a peak power of 34 hp and a maximum torque of 27.3 Nm, and is mated to a 6-speed sequential gearbox.

Speculation has it that TVS may also introduce an adventure motorcycle based on the same engine and platform as the Apache RR 310, but there has been no official word on that. If true, this next TVS Adventure Motorcycle would undercut the BMW G310 GS and KTM Adventure 390, and thus become a value-for-money product.