Historic British motorcycle marque Norton is set open a new factory in Solihull.  The firm’s new West Midlands base will open following a following a multi-million pound investment by its Indian parent company, TVS Motor Company.

The new headquarters will be home to design, engineering, purchasing, sales, marketing, and support teams as well as the skilled production team that is resuming manufacture of motorcycles.

Norton said the new factory is now close to completion and will open this spring. Over 50 “high quality” jobs had been created and more are expected to follow as manufacturing grows.

Norton will resume production of the Commando Classic model at the Solihull site, building a limited quality to honour customers that had ordered and paid for a deposit on these bikes. Production of the V4SS will commence soon and the full opening of the facility is expected in the first quarter of 2021.

Sudarshan Venu, joint managing director of TVS Motors, said: “The opening of this state-of-the-art facility will create the foundations for a sustainable long-term future of Norton. The new bikes will meet the world class standards our customers expect.”

Andy Street, mayor of the West Midlands, added: “The arrival of Norton’s global headquarters to Solihull is a real vote of confidence in our region as we look to recover from the pandemic. This investment not only re-establishes our historic partnership with Norton but will set a world-class benchmark for exceptional motorcycle manufacturing at the heart of our region, creating hundreds of jobs in the process at what is an incredibly challenging time economically.”

Norton was founded in 1898 and was bought in 2008 by businessman Stuart Garner, who moved the brand to Leicestershire, building up a strong following for the hand-built bikes. Norton was acquired by TVS out of administration in April 2020.