Polaris Forms Joint Venture With Royal Enfield Owners Eicher Motors
Polaris Industries has formed a new joint venture with Eicher Motors, the parent company of Royal Enfield. The new joint venture will develop new products for India and other emerging markets.
The new company will be backed by a $50 million investment with both Polaris and Eicher sharing 50%. The joint venture will develop new vehicles, though neither company has been specific about what kind of vehicles will be produced.
Polaris builds ATVs and side-by-sides and snowmobiles, and owns two motorcycle brands, Victory and Indian Motorcycles. Polaris also owns electric vehicle manufacturer Global Electric Motorcars. Eicher owns motorcycle maker Royal Enfield and has another joint venture with Volvo producing commercial vehicles.
The as yet unnamed joint venture will benefit from Polaris’ engineering and design expertise. The new partnership will also strengthen Polaris’ presence in India. Polaris currently sells snowmobiles ATVs, side-by-sides and GEM vehicles in India.
“This agreement instantly expands and enhances Polaris’ presence in India and supplying access to additional emerging markets around the globe and leverages Polaris’ strength in product innovation and vehicle development,” says Scott Wine, Polaris chief executive officer. “Eicher’s financial strength and rich history as a leader in the Indian market makes them the perfect partner for Polaris in India. This joint venture represents an incredible opportunity to develop new vehicles and realize global growth.”
Eicher will contribute its powertrain expertise, economical engineering, familiarity with the Indian market and its network of over 400 dealerships in India.
“At Eicher Motors Limited, we are committed to long term growth and value creation for our stakeholders through both organic and inorganic expansion,” says Siddhartha Lal, managing director and CEO, Eicher Motors Limited. “This joint venture strongly supports our strategic direction. Currently, we are active in the commercial vehicle and motorcycle categories. Collaborating with Polaris allows us to enter new profitable vehicle segments.”
The joint venture is scouting for a location for a new factory with production expected to begin in 2015.
[Source: Polaris]
Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.
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