Motoroyale and Norton Motorcycles have signed an international joint venture for the development of superbikes in the Indian market. The JV shall start off in the first quarter of next year by launching a limited edition all British CBU version of its existing models. It will parallelly set up its CKD assembly for Norton’s most popular range of the classic 961cc café racer and sports model, Commando which will be followed by the Dominator, and its variants, Commando 961 Sport and Commando 961 Café Racer, Dominator Sport and DomiRacer. These are expected towards the end of 2018.
Know more about the Motoroyale & Norton Motorcycles Joint Venture!
Norton, the British marquee brand, is also working on developing a new range and engine platforms, which will be made available to the JV in the subsequent years. The motorcycles will be assembled in India at Kinetic’s plant in Ahmednagar that holds a capacity of assembling 30,000 vehicles annually. Motoroyale is in the process of setting up world class facilities for engine and vehicle assemblies for its various brands, and shall undertake the complete requirements for Indian homologation along with the support of Norton. Motoroyale and Norton have planned an investment in the range of USD 10mn including the setup, working capital and marketing expenditure required to make this a successful project, in a step by step manner.
The unique idea of a multi brand superbike venture, Motoroyale is envisaged by Mr. Ajinkya Firodia, Managing Director who added “Motoroyale shall offer the best two wheeler brands across the globe to the Indian market. Having said that, I deem that Norton motorcycles fit the idea exquisitely. Norton has maintained its own charm and legacy, which makes it a standalone brand. ‘Norton Motorcycles’ are like the ‘Aston Martins’ of the motorcycling world. Currently they are extremely fabulous and exclusive. By combining the joint strengths of Norton and Kinetic, we are aiming to deliver the same finesse at an exciting value proposition in order to expand the reach of the motorcycles to true biking enthusiasts. I am in no doubt that these motorcycles will he highly appreciated and welcomed by discerning the motorcyclists.”
Mr. Stuart Garner, CEO & Owner, Norton Motorcycles said, “Norton has a unique place in motorcycle history. We have been hand building gorgeous bikes in England for many years. We are now taking the next big step forward and delighted to form this alliance with the Kinetic group. I believe that the style, passion and beauty of Norton products coupled with the experience of Kinetic will make a winning combination and deliver a fabulous range of Norton motorcycles across the ASEAN territories”. Estimating the superbike market in India to be about 12000-15000 bikes annually growing at 20 percent, Motoroyale expects Norton to take 10-14 percent market share of the same in India alone, which works out to 1200 – 2000 vehicles in India in the coming years.
The JV also shall market and appoint distributors in the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Brunei Darussalam, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, Cambodia, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. The ASEAN sales will be additional to the extent of 4000 - 5000 vehicles annually within 2 – 3 years of launch. This vision is in line with the ‘Make in India’ initiative, where under the ASEAN agreement signed by the government, there are preferential import tariffs across some of the above countries. Norton is currently based in Donington Hall near London and its hand-built motorcycles consists of charming classic sport and café racer with 961cc engines with the popular “Commando” and “Dominator”. These vehicles will now be available to Motoroyale.
