In November 2020, Kawasaki Heavy Industries announced that it planned to spin off its dedicated motorcycle entity by October 1, 2021. The new company, Kawasaki Motors Limited, is now here – and even before its official start date as an entity, it is already being talked about.
In June 2021, Kawasaki noted that its global sales of motorcycles with displacements greater than 400 cc had increased by 80% since 2017. In addition, the average age of customers is now lower, the number of motorcyclists in the twenties having increased by 60% during the same period. At that time, the Japanese factory also said it was working hard on the development of electric motors, hybrids and hydrogen fuel technologies in recognition of larger societal and cultural changes.
In September 2021, the first-ever president of Kawasaki Motors Limited, Hiroshi Ito, announced that Kawasaki planned to expand its existing plant in Nebraska, as well as establish a brand-new manufacturing facility in Mexico. The company plans to spend approximately $265 million on these expansion projects, intended to increase production capacity in North American markets, as well as elsewhere around the world.
This brings us to October 1, 2021, which is, for all intents and purposes, the official anniversary of Kawasaki Motors Limited. Naturally, this is the time when company founders, presidents, and the like like to make big speeches about what the company hopes to achieve. While President Hiroshi Ito was no different in this regard, his official announcement was focused on fun.
Hiroshi Ito said his philosophy is that everyone involved in making Kawasaki motorcycles should also have fun. Whatever their job, he wants them to enjoy Kawasaki so they can make the most exciting motorcycles possible.
Of course, anyone can say that, and actions speak louder than words. It is too early to say whether these words are meaningful and sincere. What's more interesting to us is the fact that Kawasaki Motors Limited is introducing itself with a new logo to celebrate its new identity. Or rather, an old logo – and one that was most certainly chosen very deliberately.
When the Ninja H2 and H2R debuted in 2014, Kawasaki Heavy Industries chose to use its iconic River Mark as its official logo. It's a heavily stylized design that takes inspiration from the Japanese kanji for "kawa", meaning "river". In the great history of Kawasaki, the brand made its debut in the 1870s. It was originally flown on the flags of ships owned by the Kawasaki Tsukiji shipyard, the company that eventually became Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
In other words, it was a very big deal when Kawasaki chose to use this hallowed mark as the official logo for the H2 and H2R. With this recent history in mind, its use as the new Kawasaki Motors Limited logo seems to be a pretty clear statement of intent.
