Mahindra to revive BSA motorcycles, assembly in the UK to start next year
Mahindra, which owns a 60% stake in Classic Legends, is planning to revive the BSA (Birmingham Small Arms) brand. The company has announced that it is aiming to start assembling BSA motorcycles in England by mid-2021. Mahindra is reportedly waiting for the Brexit matter to end before it proceeds with the BSA project.
Mahindra intends to start the assembly of BSA motorcycles as early as mid-2021. Such a short timeline indicates that bikes would be in the near-production stages at the moment. It is also very likely that Mahindra might have developed the motorcycles here in India. The first BSA motorcycles to be assembled will be petrol-powered, however, reports suggest that an electric model is also in the pipeline and should be revealed by the end of next year.
Mahindra has chosen to assemble BSA motorcycles in the UK and not back home in India because the UK Govt has issued Classic Legends a grant of GBP 4.6 million (INR 45.2 crore) to set up a technical and design centre in Banbury, Oxfordshire to develop electric bikes “in the hope of creating at least 255 jobs”.
Also Read: Jawa electric motorcycle imagined - IAB Rendering
The petrol-powered BSA motorcycles are expected to be priced in the GBP 5000 - GBP 10,000 range (INR 4.9 lakh - INR 9.8 lakh). Although would be too early to comment regarding the availability of the products in India, chances appear to be very slim.
Birmingham Small Arms (BSA) was originally founded in 1861. It manufactured guns for several years before entering the bicycle and motorcycle market. Unfortunately, it found it difficult to keep up with the Japanese brands. As a result, BSA went bankrupt in 1972.
In other news, Classic Legends is developing a Jawa electric motorcycle. The company is focusing on making it as localised as possible. However, as with the case of electric vehicles, some parts and components cannot be sourced locally. For example, the battery cells and possibly even the battery management system need to be imported.
Stay tuned to IndianAutosBlog.com for more such updates.
[Source: autocarindia.com]
