Harley-Davidson Inc is in talks with India's Hero MotoCorp for a distribution deal which will allow the US company's motorcycles to be sold in India.

This comes close on the heels of the US company stopping local manufacturing there.

The Milwaukee-based company said on Thursday it will stop sales and shut its manufacturing plant in India, effectively abandoning the world's biggest motorcycle market after a decade of unsuccessful efforts to gain a foothold.

Harley, however, is in talks with Hero over a distribution arrangement that will allow the Indian company to import and sell Harley bikes as its sole distributor.

Discussions are also ongoing to let Hero become a contract manufacturer for at least one Harley motorcycle with 300-600 cc engine capacity, which it will launch later.

On Thursday, Harley said it was changing its business model in India evaluating options to continue to serve customers.

Hero MotoCorp, India's largest two-wheeler manufacturer by sales, produced 6.4 million two-wheeler scooters and motorcycles in the fiscal year ending March 2020, a third of India's total output.

Harley manufactured 4,500 motorcycles during that period, largely assembled from imported knock-down kits at its plant near New Delhi, which it will shut as part of its restructuring.

Harley's decision to stop direct manufacturing marks another major exit by an automotive player in India and is a setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has invited foreign firms to ramp up local production. Ford Motor and General Motors have both cut back their India operations in recent years.

Harley, known for its heavy touring motorcycles, struggled in India mainly because of high import duties -- which US President Donald Trump often criticised India for -- and also because its locally assembled bikes faced high taxes.

Harley's 33 dealerships will likely come under Hero's management under the new arrangement.

(with inputs)

Harley-Davidson Inc is in talks with India's Hero MotoCorp for a distribution deal which will allow the US company's motorcycles to be sold in India. This comes close on the heels of the US company stopping local manufacturing there.

Harley-Davidson Inc is in talks with India's Hero MotoCorp for a distribution deal which will allow the US company's motorcycles to be sold in India. This comes close on the heels of the US company stopping local manufacturing there. The Milwaukee-based company said on Thursday it will stop sales and shut its manufacturing plant in India, effectively abandoning the world's biggest motorcycle market after a decade of unsuccessful efforts to gain a foothold. Harley, however, is in talks with Hero over a distribution arrangement that will allow the Indian company to import and sell Harley bikes as its sole distributor. Discussions are also ongoing to let Hero become a contract manufacturer for at least one Harley motorcycle with 300-600 cc engine capacity, which it will launch later. On Thursday, Harley said it was changing its business model in India evaluating options to continue to serve customers. Hero MotoCorp, India's largest two-wheeler manufacturer by sales, produced 6.4 million two-wheeler scooters and motorcycles in the fiscal year ending March 2020, a third of India's total output. Harley manufactured 4,500 motorcycles during that period, largely assembled from imported knock-down kits at its plant near New Delhi, which it will shut as part of its restructuring. Harley's decision to stop direct manufacturing marks another major exit by an automotive player in India and is a setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has invited foreign firms to ramp up local production. Ford Motor and General Motors have both cut back their India operations in recent years. Harley, known for its heavy touring motorcycles, struggled in India mainly because of high import duties -- which US President Donald Trump often criticised India for -- and also because its locally assembled bikes faced high taxes. Harley's 33 dealerships will likely come under Hero's management under the new arrangement. (with inputs)

Harley close to deal with India's Hero after stopping local manufacturing

I remember the day iconic American motorcycle maker Harley Davidson rolled down the Indian roads for the first time. A batch of selected journalists were invited for this ride that took place near the famous Lodhi Gardens in the heart of India's capital New Delhi. I was also among those first few riders who were considered lucky that time.

So while we were given these high-powered bikes to "enjoy" them responsibly on Delhi roads, on a predetermined route, many of us couldn't hold our excitement and broke away from the disciplined row of Harley Davidson bikes to enjoy them in our own way. That was the initial euphoria and enthusiasm surrounding these bulky bikes and at that time they were definitely a head-turner on Indian roads.

Fast forward to 2020 and the Milwaukee-based American cult bike maker is now either looking at exiting the Indian market completely or at least trying to curtail its operations significantly. It appears that Harley Davidson has fallen out of love with the Indian market, after more than a decade of a rough ride.

The first few years looked very promising for Harley Davidson after the launch. It was the time when it the then MD Anoop Prakash was known for an upbeat tone for the Indian market. Those were the initial days when India had seen very few superbikes except the ones like Suzuki's Hayabusa on Indian roads. &nbsp;

Harley Davidson was also seen as a promising bike-maker and appeared serious for its long ride in India as it had established the assembly operations at Bawal in Haryana, which was quite unusual those days. Most of the big bikes were directly imported by sellers and even the existing ones Honda and Yamaha were not assembling them at their Indian plants.

After the initial excitement waned off, the US cult bike maker was exposed to the harsh Indian reality where the initial excitement doesn't translate into actual sales.

Also, Indian buyers are known for checking out all the brands but ultimately settling for the loyal few ones like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor in cars and Hero Moto, Bajaj Auto, TVS, Royal Enfield in motorcycles. As India's home-grown two-wheeler majors kept pace with time and brought their own updated, attractive models, the lure of Harley Davidson motorcycle also faded.

No wonder the Harley Davidson could sell less than 30,000 units in India in 10 years where more than 17 million two-wheelers are sold every year and market for top-end bikes above 500 cc engine displacement is still in its infancy.

Also in the later years of its journey in India, other global bike-makers joined Harley Davidson to compete for just over 25,000 units annual top-end bike market including Triumph, KTM, Ducati, Benelli, BMW to name a few.

Later on, even homegrown Royal Enfield chartered into Harley's territory by launching the 650 cc Interceptor and Continental GT. Harley Davidson's mostly cruiser or leisure bikes paled away in front of off-road capabilities of Austrian, German and Italian bikes. Even now, the most affordable bike of Harley Davidson starts at around Rs 5 lakh and there are nearly a dozen well established attractive models from other brands that are already available at this price in the market.

Clearly, the road ahead for Harley Davidson is filled with the potholes of reduced demand for premium bikes as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and cut-throat competition. Globally, Harley Davidson has been unable to bear the COVID-19 pain. It has launched the "rewire the company" plan to cut jobs and pull out of unprofitable markets to revive sales and profitability.

There is something about the US automobile firms and their unsuccessful strategies about India that General Motors had to completely shut India operations and Ford had to merge its operations with M&amp;M for survival. It appears now Harley Davidson will also choose either of these two ways and decision would be taken soon. &nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

 
&nbsp;

I remember the day iconic American motorcycle maker Harley Davidson rolled down the Indian roads for the first time. A batch of selected journalists were invited for this ride that took place near the famous Lodhi Gardens in the heart of India's capital New Delhi.

I remember the day iconic American motorcycle maker Harley Davidson rolled down the Indian roads for the first time. A batch of selected journalists were invited for this ride that took place near the famous Lodhi Gardens in the heart of India's capital New Delhi. I was also among those first few riders who were considered lucky that time. So while we were given these high-powered bikes to "enjoy" them responsibly on Delhi roads, on a predetermined route, many of us couldn't hold our excitement and broke away from the disciplined row of Harley Davidson bikes to enjoy them in our own way. That was the initial euphoria and enthusiasm surrounding these bulky bikes and at that time they were definitely a head-turner on Indian roads. Fast forward to 2020 and the Milwaukee-based American cult bike maker is now either looking at exiting the Indian market completely or at least trying to curtail its operations significantly. It appears that Harley Davidson has fallen out of love with the Indian market, after more than a decade of a rough ride. The first few years looked very promising for Harley Davidson after the launch. It was the time when it the then MD Anoop Prakash was known for an upbeat tone for the Indian market. Those were the initial days when India had seen very few superbikes except the ones like Suzuki's Hayabusa on Indian roads. Harley Davidson was also seen as a promising bike-maker and appeared serious for its long ride in India as it had established the assembly operations at Bawal in Haryana, which was quite unusual those days. Most of the big bikes were directly imported by sellers and even the existing ones Honda and Yamaha were not assembling them at their Indian plants. After the initial excitement waned off, the US cult bike maker was exposed to the harsh Indian reality where the initial excitement doesn't translate into actual sales. Also, Indian buyers are known for checking out all the brands but ultimately settling for the loyal few ones like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor in cars and Hero Moto, Bajaj Auto, TVS, Royal Enfield in motorcycles. As India's home-grown two-wheeler majors kept pace with time and brought their own updated, attractive models, the lure of Harley Davidson motorcycle also faded. No wonder the Harley Davidson could sell less than 30,000 units in India in 10 years where more than 17 million two-wheelers are sold every year and market for top-end bikes above 500 cc engine displacement is still in its infancy. Also in the later years of its journey in India, other global bike-makers joined Harley Davidson to compete for just over 25,000 units annual top-end bike market including Triumph, KTM, Ducati, Benelli, BMW to name a few. Later on, even homegrown Royal Enfield chartered into Harley's territory by launching the 650 cc Interceptor and Continental GT. Harley Davidson's mostly cruiser or leisure bikes paled away in front of off-road capabilities of Austrian, German and Italian bikes. Even now, the most affordable bike of Harley Davidson starts at around Rs 5 lakh and there are nearly a dozen well established attractive models from other brands that are already available at this price in the market. Clearly, the road ahead for Harley Davidson is filled with the potholes of reduced demand for premium bikes as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and cut-throat competition. Globally, Harley Davidson has been unable to bear the COVID-19 pain. It has launched the "rewire the company" plan to cut jobs and pull out of unprofitable markets to revive sales and profitability. There is something about the US automobile firms and their unsuccessful strategies about India that General Motors had to completely shut India operations and Ford had to merge its operations with M&M for survival. It appears now Harley Davidson will also choose either of these two ways and decision would be taken soon. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

What went wrong for Harley Davidson in India?

US President Donald Trump said that even though<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/tariff-king-india-wants-trade-talks-us-immediately-says-trump-168847"> India has reduced its import tariff </a>on American motorcycles from 100 per cent to 50 per cent, it is still too high and not acceptable to him.

Trump said the United States, under his leadership, is a country that can no longer be fooled.

"We're not the foolish country that does so badly. You look at India, very good friend of mine, Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, you take a look at what they've done, 100 per cent tax on a motorcycle. We charge them nothing," Trump told CBS news in an interview on Monday.&nbsp;

Trump was referring to the import tariff on the<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-certainly-not-a-tariff-king-says-world-bank-official-on-donald-trumps-remarks-174726"> Harley Davidson motorcycles</a>, an issue that has been close to his heart and wants India to reduce it to zero.

"So, when Harley sends over there, they have 100 per cent tax. When they (India) send in,&nbsp;they make a tremendous number of motorcycles,&nbsp;&nbsp;when they send them in, no tax. I called him. I said it's unacceptable,"&nbsp;Trump said, referring to his conversation with Prime Minister Modi.

"He (Modi) reduced it by 50 per cent with one phone call. I said it's still unacceptable because it's 50 per cent versus nothing. It's still unacceptable. And they're working on it," he said, indicating that the two countries are still in talks to resolve the issue of import tariffs on American motorcycles.

"But if I didn't, if we didn't have the power of what we have, and if we weren't the bank - well, if we weren't the bank we wouldn't even be talking about it because nobody would care. But we're the bank that everybody wants to rob, and that's what they've been doing for a long period of time. $800 billion we have in trade deficits with other countries. So you tell me who made those deals,"&nbsp;he said in response to a question.

US President Donald Trump said that even though India has reduced its import tariff on American motorcycles from 100 per cent to 50 per cent, it is still too high and not acceptable to him.

US President Donald Trump said that even though India has reduced its import tariff on American motorcycles from 100 per cent to 50 per cent, it is still too high and not acceptable to him. Trump said the United States, under his leadership, is a country that can no longer be fooled. "We're not the foolish country that does so badly. You look at India, very good friend of mine, Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, you take a look at what they've done, 100 per cent tax on a motorcycle. We charge them nothing," Trump told CBS news in an interview on Monday. Trump was referring to the import tariff on the Harley Davidson motorcycles, an issue that has been close to his heart and wants India to reduce it to zero. "So, when Harley sends over there, they have 100 per cent tax. When they (India) send in, they make a tremendous number of motorcycles, when they send them in, no tax. I called him. I said it's unacceptable," Trump said, referring to his conversation with Prime Minister Modi. "He (Modi) reduced it by 50 per cent with one phone call. I said it's still unacceptable because it's 50 per cent versus nothing. It's still unacceptable. And they're working on it," he said, indicating that the two countries are still in talks to resolve the issue of import tariffs on American motorcycles. "But if I didn't, if we didn't have the power of what we have, and if we weren't the bank - well, if we weren't the bank we wouldn't even be talking about it because nobody would care. But we're the bank that everybody wants to rob, and that's what they've been doing for a long period of time. $800 billion we have in trade deficits with other countries. So you tell me who made those deals," he said in response to a question.

Modi reduced tariffs on Harley Davidson motorcycles by 50%, I said it was still unacceptable: Trump