Mahindra to bring back BSA motorcycles

The British motorcycle brand and the Indian Brand will produce ‘Classic Legends’ bikes by 2019.

Mahindra already has bikes like Flyte, Gusto and Rodeo under its banner to name a few. And now, it will manufacture BSA motorcycles of engine size between 500-750cc. It’s the first collaboration of an Indian company with a British motorcycle brand, and the bikes are likely to hit the market by 2019.

Birmingham Small Arms Company is one of the most popular British motorcycle brands, and it produced its first bike back in 1910. Once known as the largest motorcycle producer in the world, BSA was also the owner of the Triumph brand. However, in the 1970s, BSA put an end to its production.

The notion behind the BSA acquisition is to revive the brand and to re-introduce the British giant as a novel motorcycle brand. Mahindra is going to use in-house R&D facilities along with Peugeot’s engineering expertise to manufacture the bikes. The new models are likely to have a contribution of the Italian design house Pininfarina as well.

Mahindra is on its way to becoming a key player in the two-wheeler industry and has earlier taken the acquisition route as well. Last year, Mahindra bought a 51 per cent stake in Peugeot motorcycles. It also went on to exhibit three premium scooters from Peugeot at the 2016 Auto Expo. Mahindra had also acquired Kinetic’s two-wheeler business in 2008 to establish a strong position in the business.

Rajesh Jejurikar, President and Chief Executive of Two Wheelers said, “We want to bring back the aura of BSA, while also bringing back a commitment to honest engineering. To achieve this, we have Classic Legends, which will allow us to move into the premium and niche segments.”

Mahindra already has production units in both India and France. Moreover, Jejurikar has confirmed that their production has kick-started with the assistance of its Italian-based racing division.

These super bikes will soon be available to the Indian market. Excited to see how Mahindra revives BSA?