Norton moving inexorably towards an electric
Norton's CEO also confirms that Norton motorcycles will be on the race track again!
John Newman
Norton, slowly recovering from the pension scandal which removed the old CEO Stuart Garner and left it in the mire, is now heading off in a new direction and it's looking electric. Rescued from ignominy by Indian company TVS Motors in 2020, the old British marque looks likely to get a new lease of life, even returning to the race track once more.
The company was left in a poor state after its financial dire straits led to terrible practices which were used to cover up financial holes and which left many unroadworthy bikes and outstanding orders needing to be met. It has taken the new owners 18 months to sort it out and catch up after its near collapse into bankruptcy.
The new CEO Dr Robert Hentschel now appears to be looking towards the advent of some new models, potentially electric ones, to charge into the future. There may even be one appearing in December, it will be interesting to see what manifests and what powers it.
Hentschel predicts that the motorcycle industry will follow a similar trajectory to cars, saying that motorcycles usually fall about five years behind the automotive industry, thus it is time to steal a march on the electric market which is surely on its way rapidly in. It seems that by 2025 around half of the cars on the road will be electric or hybrid and where cars lead motorcycles will surely follow. But he can also see that there is an emotional relationship between many riders and their petrol motorcycles, and they may be reluctant to go electric, so he want to get the balance right between the old and the new.
The new CEO has clearly got his eye on the ball and is aiming to make Norton into a technology driven firm which is a real player in the motorcycle market in years ahead. His plans, largely to make Norton regain its reputation for producing a real quality motorcycle which riders can rely on and be proud to own, are admirable after the bumpy road it's been riding along to date.
To help boost Norton's damaged reputation and credentials, Norton will be returning to the race track once more although it is not quite clear in what capacity and which races it will be tackling yet.
It looks as though Norton's fortunes are now finally on the up and there's something to look forward to ahead. Any thoughts about an electric Norton on the streets of the future? Have you ever ridden a Norton and would you consider an electric one, do you agree about the emotional connection between man and machine?
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