Iconic British brand Norton Motorcycles has signed a new £20million export deal with Japan, which will support 200 jobs in the UK and see around 1000 new motorbikes sold to Japanese customers over the next five years.
The contract was announced in mid-January as Japanese PM Shinzo Abe met with his British counterpart Theresa May in London – the deal being part of a series of new business for British and Japanese firms and farmers worth more than £200m.
Kay Johnson, head of global sales and marketing at Norton Motorcycles, said: “Norton has an agreement with our distributor PCI Limited in Japan which will run over a five-year term to manufacture more than 1000 bikes, and will achieve an estimated value of £5million.
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“We very much look forward to growing our workforce to support the demand for motorbikes in this territory and, in doing so, continue to build a strong trading business with Japan.”
International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox said: “The UK and Japan are among the strongest champions of free trade, and an even closer relationship as we leave the European Union will help us to rally against the protectionist measures around the world that risk making us all poorer.
“That’s why today we have committed to reduce global trade tensions, reform global trading rules and bring a new UK-Japan free trade agreement into force as soon as possible.”
