Norton Commando Production Begins At New Factory

Norton Motorcycles is gearing up to finish the batch of the Norton Commando 961 at the brand's new Midlands factory. COVID-19 restrictions affected development of the new factory in Solihull, after Norton was purchased by TVS Motor Company for GBP 16 million in April 2020. But now, the factory's operations are gaining momentum with 110 workers on board. The factory has a large manufacturing area with the capacity to build 8,000 bikes a year, and there are also design studios, an engineering office and a service facility.

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Interim Norton Motorcycles CEO John Russell at the new factory

According to interim and outgoing CEO John Russell, the last Commando 961 batch is being built, and trial builds have also started on the Norton V4s. There are about 70 previous orders to fulfill the top-of-the-range V4 and a further 80 will be built to bring the total number of V4s to 200. The company is also developing the Atlas 650 models, which will form a key part of the future product range. A licensed out version of the 650 twin-cylinder engine has already been seen in China's Zongshen Cyclone RX6.

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The new Norton headquarters are home to design, engineering, purchasing, sales, marketing, and support teams

"Construction of bikes at our new facility began earlier this year to honour the pre-existing orders for customers who placed deposits on bikes with old Norton but never received them. We see fulfilling those orders as one of the first key steps in our journey to rebuild customer trust. Then the plan is to officially open the facility in the coming months, and we are on a very positive trajectory to continue building bikes at the most advanced manufacturing facility that Norton has ever had," said interim CEO John Russell.

Russell will step down from his position as Norton's interim CEO to make way for Dr. Robert Hentschel, who has been appointed the new CEO. Along with him, Vittorio Urciuoli will take over as Chief Technical Officer. In a recent statement, TVS Motor Company said that these appointments will be instrumental in Norton's next phase of transformation, with ongoing investment from TVS Motor.