In 2022, Indian-based multinational motorcycle manufacturer TVS made a significant investment of £100 million in Norton Motorcycles. Naturally, what does an iconic brand like Norton do with such an influx of capital? It expands, of course, and since then, we have seen Norton making news on various occasions with innovations and developments here and there, but nothing truly revolutionary for someone to say that Norton is back in the mainstream market.
All of this may be about to change as TVS is increasing its involvement with Norton. In fact, it has been reported by several sources that TVS is developing a new range of motorcycles under the Norton brand. A recent article from AutoCar Professional, an Indian-based automotive publication, states that TVS Motor Company is developing a new product line for Norton, which is set to launch in the UK in 2026. Currently, Norton’s range consists of the Commando 961, V4SV, and V4CR, all of which are extremely premium motorcycles predominantly in circulation in the British market, although a small number have reached other markets.
The upcoming product line from Norton, developed by TVS, aims at the global market in the “super-premium” segment, a category that has seen significant growth in key markets, particularly in Asia. “We need to have a healthy product line. We are now designing, developing, and putting those products in place, and it will take six to eight quarters for us to fully realize the benefits of that,” said TVS Motor CEO KN Radhakrishnan to AutoCar Professional. In fact, Norton CEO Dr. Robert Hentschel echoed similar statements, emphasizing the need to improve quality when it comes to launching new motorcycles.
In a previous report from Web Bike World, Dr. Hentschel stated, “The supply of some parts and… the quality was not good enough, so I did not sign the contract. I prefer to have a product of adequate quality here than customer complaints, which we cannot afford at this time, at this stage of Norton’s journey.” In fact, Norton’s recent past has not been exactly defect-free. However, it seems that TVS’s acquisition, as well as Norton’s new leadership, are committed to changing that.
