https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSA_CompanyMahindra Group
In October 2016, Mahindra Group of India bought BSA for £3.4 million.[1] Mahindra Group makes small-capacity motorcycles and scooters in India, through its subsidiary Mahindra Two Wheelers. Mahindra Group also owns a majority stake in France's Peugeot Motocycles, and it has reintroduced JAWA motorcycles in India launching two models, Jawa and Jawa 42, while they will launch another model Perak by mid next year.Mahindra To Launch BSA Motorcycle In The UK – Likely To Get Jawa Based Engine ; NOVEMBER 17, 2020
https://www.rushlane.com/bsa-motorcycles-classic-legends-uk-assembly-12383621.html>>>> This suggests that the product is likely to be a medium displacement retro-classic roadster commanding a premium over comparable Royal Enfield products. Coincidentally, the recently launched Jawa in Czech Republic by Mahindra Classic Legends, is priced in a similar range. Price of Jawa in Europe starts from €6k (approx Rs 5.23L). It is possible Mahindra uses the Jawa based engine for their BSA range of motorcycles. Jawa currently has two single cylinder engine options on offer – one is a 295cc unit while the other is a 334cc unit.m <<<<
Mahindra revives BSA brand to make electric motorbikes in UK; NOVEMBER 16, 2020
https://www.ft.com/content/76d67754-1ba6-4dbc-ab1e-8da232f47284>>> Production of the first new BSA bike, which uses an internal combustion engine, is set to begin next summer, with the battery bike to follow at the end of the year. The facility expects to have the capacity to make more than 10,000 models a year.
BSA plans to export more than 80 per cent of the bikes made at the site, with the aim of tapping into demand for the marque in the US, Australia and Japan. <<<
https://www.royalenfields.com/2020/11/that-60s-bsa-of-your-dreams-is-back-and.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+royalenfields/qqMm+(Royal+Enfield+Motorcycles)
--That '60s BSA of your dreams is back, and it's beautiful--
>>> But John spotted another competitor on its way. There's a company that actually built some of those great old BSAs, under license, under the brand name Meguro. It's Kawasaki. John found a video of a spectacular new Meguro K3 coming in February, 2021 to the Japanese home market.
This is a new motorcycle that looks so much like its namesake of the 1960s that I briefly had trouble telling it apart from an original in a photo of them side-by-side on stage.
But let John explain. He has been telling me about the return of Meguro to the U.S. market since at least 2019, when Kawasaki filed trademark applications for the name Meguro in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the Philippines. Here's what he wrote me, in January, 2019:
"Meguro is the forerunner company of today's Kawasaki Motorcycles. They made under license BSA A7 and A10 models that (a BSA executive) said were every bit as good if not better than the UK-manufactured ones.
"Kawasaki has been building their W800 for a number of years and it never had a true 'fit' in Kawasaki's marketing plans, sold in small numbers in Europe's niche market and never made any sort of dent in the U.S. market. The current standard version (sold mainly in Europe not in North America) W800 is a dead copy of a late 1960s BSA Spitfire.
"And why not? Kawasaki's W650 and W800 have been unabashed BSA clones for years and every retro motorcycle enthusiast knows it. Now they have a bike, a very very good bike, that's been in production for years and they are going for broke into the retro market. With only some 'badge engineering,' that W800 and Kawasaki's reputation has the potential to put the screws to any retro Mahindra BSA and Royal Enfield had better cast their future plans with an eye on this."
In February, 2019, John added this:
"Because the Meguro has the real pedigree of 'made under license' BSA, Kawasaki will thwart Mahindra from being successful in relaunching their brand engineering badged BSA just by giving the facts to the riding/buying public.
"The other stone is the sheer size of Kawasaki's total operation including their North American dealer network. They are way bigger than anybody else and can move products far quicker with greater accessibility than anyone else. No, they are NOT 'partners on the road.' They are the competition and have the potential to make things very challenging; especially fielding a machine that's been in constant production with periodic upgrades for nearly 60 years."
John's "partners on the road" reference is to Royal Enfield boss Siddhartha Lal's oft welcoming statements about competition in the market for retro looking motorcycles.
Lal commented recently that "imitation and trying to copy doesn't work, it just boosts the original. It's in a way them saying that 'we're putting our hands up and we can't do it, and so (we) will copy you.'"
John's point is that no copying is necessary for Kawasaki, with a motorcycle (the W800) developed from the BSA and only in need of a classic old name on the tank to secure its identity. Again, in February, 2019, he wrote:
"The solution I'll bet they came up with was to resurrect Meguro as the banner under which these bikes will be produced and marketed. Parts and machines sub assemblies are already in production and this was done with the stroke of a pen and a filing fee. Folks at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business would be proud."
He added: "Now if I were Royal Enfield, trademarking Constellation and Super Meteor monikers now makes a lot of sense... The clock's ticking and your competition has awoken."
In August, 2019, John reminded me: "And at the end of the day, Kawasaki has the real BSA pedigree." <<<
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meguro_motorcycleshttps://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/news/2020/november/kawasaki-revives-historic-meguro-brand>>> Now, more than 50 years later, the Meguro badge is back. Kawasaki has unveiled the Meguro K3 in Japan – directly following on from the Meguro K2, which was an improved version of the original, BSA A7-based Meguro K and the first machine to be developed under Kawasaki’s ownership of the brand.
To us, the new K3 is familiar, as it’s almost identical to the existing W800. It completes the circle, as the W800 is the latest evolution of the 1999 W650, which was developed as a tribute to the 1960s Kawasaki W, which itself was a rebranded Meguro K2…
Kawasaki Heavy Industries last month spun-off Kawasaki Motorcycle and Engine as a separate business, still owned by KHI, to give it more organisational freedom, and we could be seeing a move to expand Kawasaki’s appeal by using multiple brand names. We’ve seen similar things in the car world before, with Toyota launching Lexus as its luxury brand and companies like the VW Group owning vast numbers of brand names to attack different niches of the market. Kawasaki now has Meguro at its disposal – ideal for retro machines – and its large share in Bimota means it has a potential high-end brand to use on expensive machines that would benefit from a more exotic name. <<<
Topic: BSA (Read 9225 times)