Classic Legends Private Limtied, which acquired the BSA brand in 2016, is working on reviving the iconic British motorcycle brand, and is getting ready to launch an electric motorcycle under the BSA brand name. Initially, Classic Legends had plans to revive the BSA brand with internal combustion engines, but BSA is now also getting ready to foray into the electric motorcycles segment. The UK government has awarded a GBP 4.6 million grant to BSA, as part of a low carbon automotive initiative across the UK, a statement from Classic Legends said. With the latest grant, the company's plans to revive the BSA Motorcycles brand, has received another boost, the statement added.
Also Read: British Motorcycle Brand BSA May Be Revived With An Electric Motorcycle
BSA is an iconic British motorcycle brand, and was the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer in the 1950s
The BSA Company was awarded this grant by the UK government's Advanced Propulsion Centre, for development of innovative zero emission motorcycles that support the UK automotive sector's quest to go green and create thousands of jobs in the process. Classic Legends has already set up a technical centre at its base in Coventry, United Kingdom. The revived BSA Company will also manufacture motorcycles with internal combustion engines, along with an electric motorcycle.
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The iconic BSA motorcycle brand will be revived with both internal combustion engines, as well as electric powertrains
The Mahindra Group owns Classic Legends, which acquired the BSA Company, or Birmingham Small Arms Company in 2016. Classic Legends manufactures and sells the revived modern classic Jawa motorcycles in India. BSA was originally founded in 1861 to manufacture guns, and the brand's metalworking factories were later turned to bicycles and then motorcycles. By the 1950s, it was the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer, but it ceased production after going bankrupt in the 1970s.
Also Read: Analysis: Why Mahindra Acquired BSA Company?
During the 1950s and '60s, BSA was one of the most popular British motorcycle brands, across the world, along with Triumph, Norton and Royal Enfield. While Royal Enfield shut shop in the UK in the '50s, it continued to thrive in India, and is now a completely Indian brand, owned by Eicher Motors, with its headquarters in Chennai. Norton Motorcycles was acquired by India's TVS Motor Company in 2020 for GBP 16 million. Triumph is the only British brand with its ownership, heritage and manufacturing still concentrated at its headquarters in Hinckley, UK.
