Mahindra has already proven his ability to revive motorcycle brands like Jawa, and will not attempt the move to electric on the known and iconic BSA Motorcycles brand.
Anand Mahindra, Indian billionaire and chairman of Mahindra group, plans to revive the BSA brand, and put future focus on electric motorcycles. Mahindra, Chairmain of Mahindra Group, who’s estimated net worth is 1.7bn, took interest in the history and legacy of motorcycle production in UK. He will now revive BSA, with the help of UK government grant to develop electric bikes. Their plan is to setup a research facility and develop electric motorcycles, but only followed to producing ICE models. The electric models will be expected only by end of 2021.
Mr. Mahindra has his own track record for successful companies in the vehicle space. With Mahindra Group being a lead manufacturer of tractors, ownership of Reva Electric-car brand, and his past in taking over failed motorcycle brands and bringing them to success. In 2016, he took the controlling stake in the owning company of both the BSA brand, and Jawa motorcycles brand. Jawa was relaunched in 2018, and successfully sold 50,000 bikes in its first year since relaunch, and that move is what Mahindra now plans to repeat with BSA.
BSA, or “Birmingham Small Arms” company limited, was founded in 1861 originally as a group of manufacturing, for Guns, bicycle, cars, motorcycles and more. It later turned to the BSA-Triumph motorcycle company, in a government-organized rescue operation in 1973, later know as ‘Norton-Villiers Triumph’, but it went bankrupt shut down production in the late 1970s. The ‘BSA Company Limited’ acquired the BSA name rights during the liquidation in 1978, only to be picked up in 2016 by Mahindra Group.
The experience brought by Mahindra Group is not only that of knowing the vehicle industry, homologation and market space, but as well as the specific know-how in the electric mobility space. As they already have success with Reva models like G-Wiz model and three-wheel electric rickshaws. They have the ability to scale and bring success to the BSA brand, putting it right back to its glory days.
The initial motorcycles BSA will offer will apparently still be ICE models, which is a bit of a disappointment. These models will use UK produced components and parts, and will be offered with price ranges of $6,600 to $13,000. We expect to hear more on the electric front, as Mahindra Group can definitely help with bringing BSA to fast production, high quality, and of course contribute to the electric mobility space.
Source: The Guardian, Wiki