The first locally assembled product from British two-wheeler brand Norton Motorcycles will reach the Indian market in March 2020, Ajinkya Firodia, Managing Director of Motoroyale Kinetic, has confirmed.
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Dropping hints about the launch of the first locally assembled Norton product in India, Firodia said that localisation will be a long term, major focus area. The motorcycles will come at aggressive price tags in the range of INR 2.5-3 lakh. Speaking to BusinessLine, Firodia said:
The first such bike, which will be 50 per cent localised, will be launched in March 2020, and the other bike, which will be fully localised, will be launched in 2021. These products, at an aggressive price range of ₹2.5-3 lakh, will drive the real volumes.
A report from earlier this month stated that Norton Motorcycles is working on a sub-500 cc bike for developing markets, including India. The upcoming model will be reportedly called the 'Commando Cub', and it will be the most affordable Norton Motorcycle yet.
Kinetic Group expects to sell 25,000 units of the Commando Cub per annum. The displacement of the upcoming motorcycle's engine will reportedly be close to the 500 cc mark. The new product will rival the likes of Leoncino 500, Royal Enfield 650 Twins and the upcoming Anglo-Indian product that will be formed through the Bajaj-Triumph partnership. The Commando Cub will be sold via Kinetic Group’s existing Motoroyale showrooms across the country.
The Norton Commando Cub will most likely draw cues from the bigger Commando products – the Norton Commando 961 California and the Norton Commando 961 Sport MK I. Thus, we may see café-racer/retro motorcycle-inspired looks for the sub-500 cc motorcycle. The company will likely introduce the products with premium hardware such as inverted forks at the front and an adjustable monoshock at the back. The motorcycle will use disc brakes on both wheels, and the setup will be governed by a dual-channel ABS.
The expected launch date of the Norton Atlas 650 coincides with the newly revealed timeline for the Commando Club. It will be safe to assume that the Atlas 650 will arrive in India via the CBU route.
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In the short term, Motoroyale Kinetic is focusing on liquidating its (BS-IV) stock before the April 2020 deadline.
[Source: BusinessLine.com]
