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Harley-Davidson Gives Up On India

India is the world’s largest two-wheeler market and the most price-sensitive as well. The country’s per capita income dictates which scooters and bikes are bought in the second-most populous country in the world, and although simple, Harley-Davidson failed to understand this principle.
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Photo: Thunderbike
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H-D is leaving India according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, closing the Bawal plant and laying off approximately 70 employees as a result of the exit. The American manufacturer also bids farewell to sales and manufacturing operations in this part of the world, which is saying a lot about how hard it is for H-D to make ends meet nowadays.

Earlier this year, the Milwaukee-based giant reported cumulative sales of 25,000 motorcycles in 10 years in India. Global sales are on a downward spiral as well, with the U.S. accounting for half of the 2020 volume.

The dark outlook may turn brighter thanks to new management in the guise of Jochen Zeitz as chief executive officer and Gina Goetter as chief financial officer. The higher-ups made a case for “restructuring actions” in August 2020, and if everything goes according to plan, the business will stabilize within 12 months according to the SEC filing mentioned earlier.

To understand how shameful the India exit is for Harley-Davidson, we should remind ourselves how the motorcycle manufacturer set foot there in 2009. To make a long story short, New Delhi allowed Washington to bring H-D in the Republic of India in exchange for mango exports to the U.S.

Indeed, the government paved the way for Harley-Davidson yet the company didn’t adapt to the far more competitive market of India. In hindsight, what were they even thinking? “Affordable” is the name of the game, and at $6,370 right off the bat, the entry-level Street 750 is too expensive.

The best-selling bikes in India have displacements of up to 125 cubic centimeters, and this should have been crystal clear to Harley-Davidson a decade ago when they set up shop in the subcontinent. The best-selling Hero Splendor, for example, kicks off at approximately $715 for 97.2 cubic centimeters while the more powerful 124.7-cc version is roughly $930.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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