Last month it was announced that Indian company TVS Motors had purchased iconic British motorcycle brand Norton for £16m. While TVS is virtually unheard of in Europe, it is one of a number of enormous Indian motorcycle manufacturers, selling around three million units each year.

And they are not the only ones. Each year 37 million motorcycles are sold in India, most of which are locally made models that are not sold in Europe, and we took a look at five of the biggest bike firms in the country.

Hero

They are one of the biggest motorcycle manufacturers in the world, yet you can’t buy one of their bikes over here.

Almost half of all motorcycles sold in India are made by Hero. In 2018 they built over 7.5 million motorcycles and the company is one of biggest in its home country. To put those sales figures into context, Yamaha sells around 5 million motorcycles globally each year, while Britain’s biggest brand, Triumph, sells less than 65,000 units a year.

Despite its size, Hero is a relatively young company. It started out in 1984 as a joint venture between motorcycle giant Honda and Indian bicycle manufacturer Hero. Known for many years as Hero Honda, the company used well proven Honda technology to produce simple small capacity machines for the Indian mass market.

Hero has been an independent company since severing ties with Honda in 2011, and in 2014 they purchased a stake in Erik Buell Racing with a view to exporting products to the USA. The current line up consists of sub-200cc machines which are sold in Asia, South America and the Caribbean.

Bajaj

Bajaj are one of the big movers and shakers in the Indian bike world and have strategic partnerships in place with both KTM and Triumph.

Like most Indian manufacturers, Bajaj focuses on small capacity (sub-200cc) machines for the domestic market, but its international partnerships show its ambition to cater for the emerging markets’ hunger for more exotic European brands.

Bajaj focussed on scooters for the early part of its existence, making Vespas under licence from Piaggio in the 1960s, and made its first motorcycle in 1986. The company has been a shareholder in KTM since 2007, and currently they have a 49% stake in the Austrian company.

This partnership has led to the development of the small capacity Duke and RC models, which are on sale as the 125 and 390 in Europe. These bikes are built in India and sold throughout the world, including in India where they are highly desirable sportsbikes.

More recently, Bajaj announced a joint venture with Triumph to develop a range of small-mid capacity machines. These partnerships are desirable for European companies, as they open up the huge Indian market – which is ordinarily difficult to access due to the high levels of bureaucracy, high import taxes and economies of scale enjoyed by local manufacturers – while Bajaj benefits from the cache of being involved with a premium brand.

TVS

Norton’s new owners are no strangers to making motorcycles, with annual sales of three million bikes each year.

Although TVS branded bikes are not on sale in the UK, the Chennai based company is involved in a partnership with BMW Motorrad – and the German company’s G 310 models are all manufactured in India by TVS.

The TVS Apache RR 310 is the company’s top of the range machine, a miniature superbike that uses the BMW’s 312cc single cylinder engine at its heart and costs around £2500 in British money. TVS say that Norton will remain a separate company, based in the UK with its own model range, but it would be a surprise if we don’t see a share of technology and marketing power between the two brands in coming years.

Royal Enfield

So here’s one we’ve probably all heard of.

Royal Enfield actually started out as a British company, being founded in Redditch in 1901.

The company formed a partnership with Madras Motors in 1955, building the 350cc Royal Enfield Bullet from kits imported from England, initially for police and military use. The bikes proved hugely popular in India, where they were top of the range models. By the 1960s, the Bullet was entirely built using Indian components, and the model continues to be built today – using an evolution of the original 1930s design.

Since 1990, Royal Enfield has been part of Eicher Motors – which also makes trucks and buses – and in recent years has introduced new models based on a new platform developed in the UK. The company has an R&D centre in Leicestershire and the new 650cc models, while still traditional, are all-new and aimed at an international audience.

Expect to see more of Royal Enfield on the world stage for years to come.

Mahindra

Mahindra is another manufacturer that you may have heard of, even though their bikes have never been officially sold over here.

That recognition is likely to come from the company’s participation in Moto3 racing between 2011 and 2017, and although they found themselves in the shadow of Honda and KTM, they did manage a handful of podiums in 2015, including three wins in 2016.

Mahindra’s standard models are basic machines designed as everyday transport in the home market, however they do have more upmarket offerings under the some traditional overseas brand names. Mahindra fully owns the French Peugeot Motorcycles brand (with one of those 2016 Grand Prix wins coming on a Mahindra machine branded as a Peugeot) while they also own the Jawa and BSA brands, both of which could be set for a revival in coming years.

Like so many Indian manufacturers, Mahindra’s bikes are part of a bigger parent company making a huge range of products, including planes, tractors, cars and trucks. Indeed the Mahindra Group owns the famous Pininfarina styling house, famous for penning some of the most exotic cars of all time.