Norton Motorcycles is as iconic a British brand as one can get. Its acquisition by TVS Motor Company, India’s third-largest motorcycle manufacturer, in April 2020 was seen as a turning page in Norton’s story. But what about the company that bought it?
Earlier this month, a few moto journos from across the globe were invited to TVS’ facility in Hosur, India, to see what’s going on behind the scenes. We gained insight into the company’s operations and pedigree as a bikemaker, along with some intriguing information on Norton’s revamp and a potential EICMA launch.
Now, for most in the Western world, TVS might be a relatively new name in the motorcycling world. However, in India, it’s a household name that first began its operations over a century ago, in 1911. Today, the bikemaker has more than 5,000 dealers in India alone, with a global presence in more than 90 countries, and five manufacturing facilities spread out across the globe to meet that demand.
TVS Motor Company
TVS produces more than 4 million motorcycles every year – all thanks to 28 assembly lines that can churn out more than 1,000 bikes every hour. That’s almost one bike every 26 seconds. What makes all of that possible?
A hefty chunk of automation, of course. That was one of the highlights of my factory tour. Plenty of automated robots are spread around the floor carrying either the bikes themselves or their components from one station to the next. That’s why you see very few production lines having a fixed line on the factory floor.
But it’s not just robots; the place is sprawling with workers – which consist of a 20% female workforce and 3% differently abled workers. There’s also a fully-fledged 50-acre biodiversity park inside the facility. It’s home to 120+ bird species, 20 types of snake, 15 lizard species, and more than 10 different kinds of amphibian.
But what does this have to do with TVS as a motorcycle manufacturer? Simple: You look after your workforce, the environment that surrounds you, and it’ll take care of you.
TVS Motor Company
Next up came perhaps the most important part of the tour: the hermetically sealed engine-building section. In front of us lay quite a few small-to-mid-capacity engines being built, but there was one that all journos ooh-ed and aaah-ed over.
It was a production-ready V4 motor that had “1200 cm3” inscribed on the barrel. A sly smile appeared on the faces of the TVS folk showing us around. No words were exchanged, no pictures were allowed, but we all knew we were staring at the all-new Norton V4 engine that would find its way on the recently spied V4 sports bike.
Right beside the V4 were kept two more engines. One looked like it belonged to a 750cc middleweight moto, while the other looked similar to the 450cc parallel twin-cylinder spotted on the upcoming BMW F 450 GS.
TVS Motor Company
It’s no secret that TVS has learned plenty from its association with BMW. Building the likes of the G 310 RR, G 310 R, and G 310 GS opened new horizons for the Indian bikemaker itself, and that knowledge shows in its recently-released RTX 300 adventure tourer that comes with a completely different 299.1cc single-cylinder motor.
But what does all of this mean for Norton’s resurgence? Well, right off the bat, it means that Norton’s future is in very capable hands. You don’t become the fastest growing 2-wheeler company in the world in the last 10 years for nothing.
And with Norton releasing a design sketch of its upcoming flagship superbike with Prof. Gerry McGovern OBE as the Chief Creative Advisor for the “Resurgence” campaign, things seem to be going in the right direction for the most part.
This follows after Norton officially confirmed four new models ready to be revealed at next month’s EICMA in Milan. This includes two versions of the highly anticipated new V4 superbike and a small-to-mid capacity adventure bike.
TVS Motor Company
With TVS’ influx of over £200m in Norton since the acquisition, it will be good to see the real products in the flesh, finally. Who’s excited?
Sources: TVS Motor, Norton Motorcycles
