Analysis: The Kinetic-Norton Joint Venture

The big news for the Indian motorcycling industry this week is the alliance of yet another legendary British motorcycle brand forming an alliance with an Indian manufacturer. On November 15, the Kinetic Group and Norton Motorcycles announced a joint venture to assemble and market Norton bikes in India and the entire ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) region. The announcement in New Delhi comes barely a few days after the two companies announced their partnership at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan. The alliance will be equity-based, with Kinetic MotoRoyale holding 51 per cent of the joint venture, and Norton Motorcycles having 49 per cent, and the new entity will be called Kinetic Norton.

Norton Motorcycles CEO Stuart Garner with Kinetic Group MD Ajinkya Firodia

What will the JV do?

The alliance is aimed at expanding the Norton brand to newer markets, more specifically, the world's largest two-wheeler market that is India, and to high-growth emerging markets in the South East Asian region. Initially, two models will be launched - the Norton Dominator and the Norton Commando - and the first lot will be 30 limited edition bikes made in England specifically for the Indian market. By the end of 2018, Kinetic will start assembling Norton motorcycles from completely knocked down (CKD) kits at its factory in Ahmednagar, Maharasthra, to be sold not only in India, but will also be exported to other markets in the ASEAN region.

The Norton Commando will be the first model to be launched in India

The Norton Commando will be launched first, followed by the Norton Dominator and their variants, namely, the Commando 961 Sport, Commando 961 Café Racer, the Dominator Sport and DomiRacer. Both the Dominator and Commando are powered by a 961 cc, air-cooled, parallel-twin engine which makes around 79 bhp of power and 90 Nm of peak torque. The joint venture is targeting 10-14 per cent stake of the Indian superbike market which works out to 1200-2000 bikes in the first couple of years. Together with the ASEAN markets, the JV is expecting sales of 4,000-5,000 bikes within the first three years of launch, sometime by 2022. But there's more to it than just bringing the current Norton motorcycles to India.

The Norton Dominator will also be launched in India after the Commando

Will there be more motorcycle models?

Also Read: Norton 650 cc Motorcycle In The Works

Norton has already started making a low-powered 650 cc engine for Chinese firm Zongshen, but simultaneously, the British firm is also working on the company's own version of a 650 cc parallel-twin engine, which will make around 100 bhp. Norton is already working on a scrambler and off-road models based on this engine, and this is what the Kinetic Norton JV will eventually also present to markets like India and SE Asia. Norton Motorcycles CEO Stuart Garner has already expressed a lot of expectations from this 650 cc platform, and although it may not be priced as competitively, these bikes will certainly give the recently unveiled Royal Enfield 650 cc models tough competition.

Royal Enfield has unveiled two new models with a brand-new 650 cc parallel-twin engine

Also Read: Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 And Continental GT650 Unveiled

On its part, Royal Enfield says that the new bikes will create a completely new segment of easy-to-ride motorcycles globally. The two new Royal Enfield models - the Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT650 - are powered by a new 650 cc parallel-twin engine, which makes 47 bhp of power and 52 Nm of peak torque. But Royal Enfield certainly has a huge advantage in terms of production capacity and dealership network. RE has over 700 dealerships across India, and MotoRoyale's network is right now still in infancy, limited to just four - Pune, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru. But Kinetic is hopeful, that once the Norton bikes are launched, the network will be extended to around 17 dealerships across India.

Norton is already working on a 650 cc Scrambler-style motorcycle

Also Read: Motorcycles To Expect From The Bajaj-Triumph Alliance

With the Norton 650 in the works, the Indian middleweight market is going to get very interesting indeed in a few years from now. Royal Enfield with two modern classics, Norton with possibly a 650 cc scrambler-style model or two, and even Kinetic MotoRoyale's other upcoming adventure offering, the 600 cc SWM SuperDual will all battle it out to attract a growing breed of Indian motorcyclists looking to upgrade from entry-level performance bikes, or even those looking to buy their first 'big' bike - for leisure and touring. And then, there's another partnership between Triumph and Bajaj Auto which will also likely spawn a whole new range of smaller motorcycles, possibly between 250-600 cc as well. It's certainly exciting times for the world's largest motorcycle market and eventually, it's the Indian consumer who will be spoilt for choice like never before.