Harley-Davidson India
| Industry | Motorcycle assembly |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009[1] |
| Headquarters | Gurgaon, Haryana, India |
| Area served | India |
| Key people | Anoop Prakash, managing director[1][2] |
| Parent | Harley-Davidson |
| Website | harley-davidson.in |
Harley-Davidson India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Harley-Davidson, based in Gurgaon, Haryana state, India.[3] It assembles SuperLow and Iron 883 variants of the Sportster model from knock-down kits.[4] H-D India has stated it has no plans for a small-displacement model for the Indian market akin to the KTM 125.[5] The company also operates a dealer network in India.
The United States ambassador to India, Timothy J. Roemer, attended the opening ceremonies for H-D India's Guragon headquarters on May 6, 2010.[6]
History
In 2009, Harley-Davidson announced plans to establish a subsidiary to be located in Gurgaon, near Delhi.[7] Plans to enter the Indian market were delayed for several years, due to high tariffs and emissions regulations. The pollution regulations have recently changed, but the tariff problem is yet unresolved.[8]
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.[9] One Indian commentator called this "mango diplomacy."[10] 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.[11] Plans to export to India were also held up by import duties of 60% and taxes of 30%, which effectively doubled the sale price.[12] A Harley-Davidson spokesman said the company thinks demand is high enough to overcome the tariffs, and chief operating officer Matt Levatich said they would continue to push for lower tariffs.[8]
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.[13] 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.[14] In 2014 Harley will begin production of their Sport (750 and 500cc) models in India for domestic sales and export.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Harley-Davidson's leadership team for India", The Hindu, November 4, 2009
- ↑ "Harley Davidson seeks 25 pc growth; targets small cities", Economic Times, May 13, 2012
- ↑ Vikram Gour (27 Aug 2009), Gurgaon is Harley-Davidson India Base, Zigwheels.com
- ↑ "Harley Davidson: Will not hike prices of CKD bikes in India", Economic Times, March 24, 2011
- ↑ Jensen Beeler (June 2, 2012), No Sub-800cc Motorcycle for India? Why Harley-Davidson Doesn’t Understand Emerging Markets, Asphalt & Rubber
- ↑ "American joyride hits the Indian roads", Official Blog of Timothy J. Roemer, U.S. Ambassador to India (U.S. Embassy India), May 7, 2010
- ↑ Bellman, Eric (August 28, 2009). "Harley to Ride Indian Growth". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Strumph, Dan (August 27, 2009). "Harley-Davidson to sell motorcycles in India". Associated Press.
- ↑ "India will export mangoes, import motorbikes from US". The Hindu Business Line. April 13, 2007.
- ↑ Vijayendra Vikram (September 11, 2009), Forbes India: 112
- ↑ "India Swaps Mangoes for Harley-Davidson Motorcycles". World Press. May 10, 2007.
- ↑ "Harley shelves India plans, citing duties". Mint. May 1, 2007.
- ↑ Harley-Davidson India Intros Motorcycle Lineup MotorcycleUSA.com
- ↑ "News By Industry". The Times Of India. November 2, 2010.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||