Photo: Thunderbike
It’s been a rough year for the world’s most prominent motorcycle brand, Harley-Davidson, as nothing seems to have been right over the past few months. Product-wise, the launch of the LiveWire is yet to yield the desired results, while at a corporate level the struggles have been immense.
Harley’s 2020 problems did not, of course, start this year, but are the culmination of decades of poor choices. Choices that back March 2020 led to the ousting of the company’s CEO, Matthew Levatich, and in September to perhaps an even more shocking announcement, the retirement from the Indian market.
India is without a doubt the world’s single largest motorcycle market, selling millions of two-wheelers (that includes scooters and the likes) each year. Naturally, Harley wanted a piece of the action, and back in 2009 it established a foothold in the country.
That move failed to have the desired results, and the decision to end the presence in India was not difficult to make – of all the millions two-wheelers sold there, the Americans accounted for just about 25,000 units, and that over the course of ten years! The reason for that is simple: Indians like small-displacement bikes, and that’s not what Harley is making. It took the company a decade to figure that out, it seems.
The exit from the Indian market is however only partial. The Americans will no longer be making bikes themselves there, but tapped local company Hero MotoCorp for some type of partnership.
The two decisions have displeased the local dealerships, who think they have been abandoned and then double-crossed by the Americans, and are now looking to initiate legal action.
According to Times of India, several dealers hired a local law firm to look into the Harley-Davidson contracts and see if there are legal grounds for moving ahead against the bike maker.
"Harley has to compensate us for our losses. That is the only bone of contention. AZB is studying the case," said in a statement cited by the source Rishi Aggarwal, one of the dealers.
It’s unclear how long it would take for this action to conclude, or whether it would be successful. In the meantime Harley is continuing its restructuring efforts and announced it would cut ties, after 18 seasons, with NHRA Pro Stock team Vance & Hines.
India is without a doubt the world’s single largest motorcycle market, selling millions of two-wheelers (that includes scooters and the likes) each year. Naturally, Harley wanted a piece of the action, and back in 2009 it established a foothold in the country.
That move failed to have the desired results, and the decision to end the presence in India was not difficult to make – of all the millions two-wheelers sold there, the Americans accounted for just about 25,000 units, and that over the course of ten years! The reason for that is simple: Indians like small-displacement bikes, and that’s not what Harley is making. It took the company a decade to figure that out, it seems.
The exit from the Indian market is however only partial. The Americans will no longer be making bikes themselves there, but tapped local company Hero MotoCorp for some type of partnership.
The two decisions have displeased the local dealerships, who think they have been abandoned and then double-crossed by the Americans, and are now looking to initiate legal action.
According to Times of India, several dealers hired a local law firm to look into the Harley-Davidson contracts and see if there are legal grounds for moving ahead against the bike maker.
"Harley has to compensate us for our losses. That is the only bone of contention. AZB is studying the case," said in a statement cited by the source Rishi Aggarwal, one of the dealers.
It’s unclear how long it would take for this action to conclude, or whether it would be successful. In the meantime Harley is continuing its restructuring efforts and announced it would cut ties, after 18 seasons, with NHRA Pro Stock team Vance & Hines.
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