Harley-Davidson India was a wholly owned branch of

Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...

, based in

Gurgaon Gurgaon (pronunciation: �ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: �ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Harley-Davidson India commenced operations in August 2009 and appointed its first dealership in July 2010. On September 24, 2020, Harley Davidson announced that it would discontinue its sales and manufacturing operations in India due to weak demand and sales.

History

In 2007, U.S. Trade Representative

Susan Schwab Susan Carol Schwab (born March 23, 1955) is an American politician, who served under President George W. Bush as United States Trade Representative from June, 2006 to January, 2009. She is not related to Charles R. Schwab Sr., founder of the Char ...

and the Minister for Commerce and Industry of India,

Kamal Nath Kamal Nath (born 18 November 1946) is an Indian politician who served as the 18th Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for approximately 15 months and resigned after a political crisis. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Legi ...

, had agreed that Harley-Davidson motorcycles would be allowed access to the Indian market in exchange for the export of Indian mangoes. One Indian commentator called this "mango diplomacy." 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. Plans to export to India were also held up by import duties of 60% and taxes of 30%, which effectively doubled the sale price. 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. Levatich has since been promoted to chief executive officer. In 2009, Harley-Davidson announced plans to establish a subsidiary to be located in Gurgaon, near Delhi. Plans to enter the Indian market were delayed for several years, due to high tariffs and

emissions regulations Emission standards are the legal requirements governing air pollutants released into the atmosphere. Emission standards set quantitative limits on the permissible amount of specific air pollutants that may be released from specific sources ove ...

. The pollution regulations have recently changed, but the tariff problem is yet unresolved. Also in 2009, Harley-Davidson India established its annual rock music tour – Harley Rock Riders. Harley-Davidson announced it was introducing 12 models in India from the range of five motorcycle families, namely Sportster, Dyna, VRSC, Softail and CVO. The motorcycles were completely built units and were to 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 were scheduled to start in April 2010 and the motorcycle delivery was to commence on 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. The United States ambassador to India,

Timothy J. Roemer Timothy John Roemer (born October 30, 1956) is an American diplomat and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2003 as a Democrat from Indiana's 3rd congressional district. Subsequently, he was the preside ...

, attended the opening ceremonies for H-D India's

headquarters on May 6, 2010. In November 2010, Harley-Davidson said that it will start an assembly facility for

complete knock down A knock-down kit (also knockdown kit, knocked-down kit, or simply knockdown or KD) is a collection of parts required to assemble a product. The parts are typically manufactured in one country or region, then exported to another country or region ...

(CKD) kits of its motorcycles in India by the first half of 2011, making it only the second CKD facility outside the US. In 2011, the company 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 began production of their

Harley-Davidson Street The Harley-Davidson Street motorcycle series was announced by Harley-Davidson at the 2013 EICMA show in Milan for 2014 introduction, Harley's first all-new models in 13 years, including Harley's first lightweight motorcycle since the 1974 Sprint. ...

500 and 750 models in India for domestic sales and export, at Bawal, Haryana India, its only manufacturing facility outside of the US. Also in 2014, the company organized 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. 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.

Products and operations

Harley-Davidson offered 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 had 29 dealership facilities across India: New Delhi, Gurgaon, Coimbatore, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Indore, Pune, Goa, Guwahati and Jaipur etc. The Street platform was jointly manufactured at Harley-Davidson's US and India plants. The Street 750 was also exported to Europe and Asia markets from India. Harley-Davidson India also sponsored the country's Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.).

References

{{Two wheelers in India Motorcycle manufacturers of India Harley-Davidson Indian companies established in 2009 2009 establishments in Haryana Manufacturing companies based in Gurgaon Manufacturing companies established in 2009 Indian subsidiaries of foreign companies