BSA
By Trevor Hedge
A British motorcycle brand that once had the unkind antonym ‘Better Shoved Along’, is set to be reborn thanks to Indian powerhouse Mahindra and the ‘Better’ can now be replaced by ‘Battery’ as the new range is set to be electric.
Of course the original BSA acronym stood for ‘Birmingham Small Arms’ and at its peak in the 1950s it was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world, alongside their firearms, bicycle and car arms of their business.
Anand Mahindra is the main backer and is funding a new research centre in the heart of where much Formula One engineering has been brewed, Banbury,
They hope to be assembling new motorcycles in the UK as soon as mid next year. Initially retro styled machines powered by conventional internal combustion engines before hopefully launching electric models in early 2022, complete with the backing of the UK government.
Mahindra have joined forces with private equity firm Phi Capital headed by motorcycle enthusiast Anupam Thareja. They already have a track record of rebirthing fallen European motorcycle brands with a successful reincarnation of Jawa already completed.
Mahindra Group is the world’s largest manufacturer of tractors, I nearly bought one myself a few years ago. They are also the 20th largest carmaker by sales. It is also the world’s biggest producer of three-wheeled electric rickshaws.
The move into electric motorcycles is to help diversify the company as they look towards a future where most countries will no longer be burning fossil fuels for personal transportation needs.
Be interesting to see where this goes…
