BSA Motorcycles Production To Restart In The UK By Next Year

Mahindra plans to build a factory in the UK to restart BSA Motorcycles production and is actively scouting for a site at present.

Chairman of Mahindra Group, Anand Mahindra stated the above and added he had chosen to invest in the UK because of its history of motorcycle production.

Whether the plan goes ahead partly hinges on talks over government grants and UK’s trade deal with the European Union, he noted.

At present, manufacturers have been scaling back production in the UK as they are concerned that supply chains will be disrupted and tariffs raised due to the country leaving the free-trade bloc. The Brexit transition period is due to end 31st December 2020.

Birmingham Small Arms (BSA) was originally founded in 1861 to manufacture guns at Small Heath, UK. It then made bicycles and motorcycles and by the 1950s, it was the world’s largest bikemaker, but went bust in the 1970s.

Mahindra’s subsidiary Classic Legends had bought the defunct marque in 2016 for £3.4 million (Rs. 33.5 crores).

BSA has been awarded a £4.6 million (Rs. 45.3 crores) grant by the UK government to develop electric bikes in Banbury, near Coventry, in the hope of creating at least 255 jobs once BSA Motorcycles production gets underway.

Anand Mahindra wants to restart assembly of BSA bikes as soon as the middle of 2021 and the first models will come with internal combustion engines, closely followed by an electric bike by the end of the year.

The traditional internal combustion engine bikes are expected to cost between £5,000 (Rs. 4.92 lakhs) and £10,000 (Rs. 9.85 lakhs).