Harley Davidson is looking for a partner to build small capacity motorcycles for India and global markets as they don’t have much expertise in it
Harley Davidson officially announced that the company is planning to enter 250-500 cc segment in India as they want to improve market share. The American manufacturer portfolio consist of bigger bikes and they don’t have much expertise in building small capacity bikes, so the company is looking for a partner to make these entry level products.
The Milwaukee-based firm can already see the success of BMW Motorrad and KTM as their partners have helped both these companies to grow in India and global markets. Triumph is also partnering with Bajaj to build entry level products as the 250-500 cc segment is expected to grow 25 percentage in next couple of years.
Harley Davidson hasn’t given more details about their partners. But analysts are not expecting small capacity bikes to bring huge profit for the company as these products are low on profits. But the American manufacturer confirmed that they are going to price its entry level models at a premium.
The company also wants its partner to build motorcycles for them as it will reduce cost. Harley Davidson expects the entry level bikes to act as a bridge for the brand as they want to make deeper in-roads into India with these products. The company is experiencing low demand from its home market, which is causing lots of problems.
Harley Davidson was registering good growth in Europe but the recent Trump issue is affecting sales of the company. U.S President Donald Trump is also not happy with the decision of Harley Davidson to shift production to other countries to overcome these tax problems.
In India, Harley Davidson is one of the fastest growing premium bike manufacturers but the company is facing stiff competition from rivals and these new products are key for growth. The American manufacturer is looking to expand the number of dealers from the current 30 and they will soon enter used bike business also.