Harley-Davidson India

Harley-Davidson India is a wholly owned branch of Harley-Davidson, based in Gurgaon, Haryana, India.[3] Harley-Davidson India commenced operations in August 2009 and appointed its first dealership in July 2010.[4]

Harley-Davidson India
Founded2009[1]
Headquarters
Gurgaon, Haryana
,
India
Key people
Anoop Prakash
(Managing Director)[1][2]
ProductsMotorcycles
ParentHarley-Davidson
Websiteharley-davidson.in

Harley-Davidson offers a range of 11 models in India from each of its six platforms – Sportster, Dyna, Softail, V-Rod, Touring and Street – in addition to a full range of parts, accessories, and general merchandise, available through authorized dealerships. The company has 29 dealership facilities across India: New Delhi, Gurgaon, Coimbatore, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Indore, Pune, Goa, Guwahati and Jaipur etc.[5][6] In 2011, The company has also set up an assembly unit at Bawal, Haryana. In 2011, Harley-Davidson India began the assembly of its Sportster line followed by the assembly of the Dyna line in 2012 and Softail line in 2013. In 2014, Harley-Davidson began manufacturing the Street 750 and 500 motorcycles in India - at Bawal, Haryana India, its only manufacturing facility outside of the US.[7] The Street platform is jointly manufactured at Harley-Davidson’s US and India plants. The Street 750 is also exported to Europe and Asia markets from India.[8] Harley-Davidson India also sponsors the country’s Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.).[9] The company organizes five big rides across the north, south, east and west zones along with the India H.O.G. Rally that takes place every year in Goa.[10] In 2009, Harley-Davidson India also established its annual rock music tour– Harley Rock Riders.[11]

The United States ambassador to India, Timothy J. Roemer, attended the opening ceremonies for H-D India's Gurgaon headquarters on May 6, 2010.[12]

History

In 2009, Harley-Davidson announced plans to establish a subsidiary to be located in Gurgaon, near Delhi.[13] Plans to enter the Indian market were delayed for several years, due to high tariffs and emissions regulations.[14] The pollution regulations have recently changed, but the tariff problem is yet unresolved.[12]

In 2007, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and the Minister for Commerce and Industry of India, Kamal Nath, had agreed that Harley-Davidson motorcycles will be allowed access to the Indian market in exchange for the export of Indian mangoes.[15] One Indian commentator called this "mango diplomacy."[16] However, India had not specified emission standards for motorcycles over 500 cc displacement, effectively prohibiting the import of Harley-Davidsons, along with most models of other manufacturers.[17] Plans to export to India were also held up by import duties of 60% and taxes of 30%, which effectively doubled the sale price.[18] A Harley-Davidson spokesman said the company thinks demand is high enough to overcome the tariffs, and (then) chief operating officer Matthew Levatich said they would continue to push for lower tariffs.[12] Levatich has since been promoted to chief executive officer.[19]

Harley-Davidson is introducing 12 models in India from the range of five motorcycle families, namely Sportster, Dyna, VRSC, Softail and CVO. The motorcycles are completely built units and will be imported to India, thus attracting a tax over 100% in the price range of 695,000 rupees and 3,495,000 rupees ex-showroom. The bookings might start from April 2010 and the motorcycle delivery will commence from June 2010. To begin with, Harley-Davidson would have five dealerships (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chandigarh) with the aim of increasing the dealerships to more than 20 in the next five years.[20] In November 2010, Harley-Davidson said that it will start an assembly facility for complete knock down (CKD) kits of its motorcycles in India by the first half of 2011, making it only the second CKD facility outside the US.[21] In 2014 Harley began production of their Harley-Davidson Street 500 and 750 models in India for domestic sales and export.

On September 24, 2020, Harley Davidson announced that it would discontinue its sales and manufacturing operations in India due to weak demand and sales. The move involves $75 million in restructuring costs, 70 layoffs and the closure of its Bawal plant in northern India.[22]

References
  1. "Harley-Davidson's leadership team for India", The Hindu, November 4, 2009
  2. "Harley Davidson seeks 25 pc growth; targets small cities", EconomicTimes, May 13, 2012
  3. Vikram Gour (27 Aug 2009), Gurgaon is Harley-Davidson India Base, Zigwheels.com
  4. "Gurgaon is Harley-Davidson India Base!". ZigWheels.com.
  5. "Harley-Davidson launches ‘Fat Boy Special’ at Rs19.7 lakh". Mint. August 4, 2011.
  6. http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-12-14/news/45191153_1_dealership-customer-base-harley-davidson-india
  7. http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-11-02/news/27609056_1_harley-davidson-india-harley-davidson-managing-director-anoop-prakash
  8. http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-11-05/news/43694911_1_two-new-models-indian-market-ckd
  9. "Harley-Davidson to host first HOG Rally in India". ZigWheels.com.
  10. says, Hameed Anu. "Harley-Davidson National HOG Rally 2 in Goa: Report and Images". motoroids.com.
  11. "Harley Davidson announces the fourth season of Harley Rock Riders". afaqs!.
  12. http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13214706
  13. Bellman, Eric (August 28, 2009). "Harley to Ride Indian Growth". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on August 18, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
  14. "Trending stories on Indian Lifestyle, Culture, Relationships, Food, Travel, Entertainment, News & New Technology News". indiatimes.com.
  15. "India will export mangoes, import motorbikes from US". The Hindu Business Line. April 13, 2007.
  16. Vijayendra Vikram (September 11, 2009), Forbes India: 112 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. "India Swaps Mangoes for Harley-Davidson Motorcycles". World Press. May 10, 2007.
  18. "Harley shelves India plans, citing duties". Mint. May 1, 2007.
  19. "Harley-Davidson is doing pretty well overseas". Wall Street Journal. March 1, 2017.
  20. Harley-Davidson India Intros Motorcycle Lineup MotorcycleUSA.com
  21. "News By Industry". The Times Of India. November 2, 2010.
  22. "Harley-Davidson to exit world's biggest bike market". BBC News. 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
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