British motorcycle brand Norton owned by Stuart Garner will be
launching limited edition CBU models of their existing lineup in India by the
first quarter of 2018 in association with Ajinkya Firodia owned Motoroyale, a
multi brand superbike venture of the Kinetic group. In an event in the capital
city of Delhi, both brands announced the joint venture and intentions of future
business which included a target of 10-14pc stake of the superbike market in
India.
Under the joint venture Norton will launch in India the Commando
series of motorcycles by the end of 2018 for India and ASEAN markets. The
Commando motorcycle will be followed by the Dominator series of bikes. Norton's
Commando series includes a 961 Sport and 961 Cafe Racer, while the Dominator
series includes a Sport and a DomiRacer bike.
The Motoroyale brand is already retailing MV Agusta superbikes and
has recently concluded a successful tie up with SWM Motorcycles. The JV with
Norton aims to sell about 1200-2000 units in India and also to market as well
as appoint distributors in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives,
Mongolia, Myanmar, Brunei Darussalam, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic,
Cambodia, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Under
this JV both companies have mutually decided upon a target of 4000-5000 units
annually within 2-3 years from the launch.
The 115 year old Norton brand under the leadership of Stuart Garner
is also in the process of developing a new range of motorcycles with new engine
platforms. These will subsequently be made available to the JV with Motoroyale.
The joint venture between the two brands will operate out of
Kinetic's Ahmednagar plant in Nagar near Pune, Maharashtra. Norton will provide
IP and design/ engineering for current and future models to the JV in India.
The Commando series which will be made available in India by the end of 2018
and will be assembled in India at Motoroyale's dedicated space in the Kinetic
facility which stretches over 52 acres. The facility has the capability to
assemble 30,000 vehicles annually. Motoroyale has planned to make an invest of
approximately USD 10 million which includes setup, working capital and
marketing expenditure to make the project successful.