The announcement comes two months after Harley unveiled a strategy to shift focus back to more profitable motorcycles and core markets such as the United States.
Harley-Davidson Inc said on Thursday it would discontinue its sales and manufacturing operations in India, effectively abandoning the world’s biggest motorcycle market after a decade of unsuccessful efforts to gain a foothold.
ADVERTISEMENT

Harley had spent recent months moving dealerships in the country to cheaper locations, and the announcement followed speculation in Indian media a month ago that executives had played down.
The move involves $75 million in restructuring costs, some 70 redundancies and the closure of its Bawal plant, walking away from a market worth about 17 million bike and scooter sales a year. (bit.ly/3mPHZnx) It will retain only a scaled-down sales office in Gurgaon, south of New Delhi.
ADVERTISEMENT

The departure is also the latest setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strategy to encourage domestic manufacturing that would keep more of the fruits of a gigantic home consumer market in India.
Harley has been scrambling for years to grow sales beyond baby boomers in the United States and has not posted retail sales growth there in the past 14 quarters.
ADVERTISEMENT

Chief Executive Officer Jochen Zeitz, who took the reins at the company in February, unveiled a major “Rewire” in July to boost profits by reducing Harley’s product portfolio by 30% and investing in 50 markets with growth potential in North America, Europe and parts of Asia Pacific.
ADVERTIESMENT

India was one of the markets the company at that point committed to investing in more heavily. Thursday’s statement said the move to leave had been pushed through since Aug. 6.
Harley said it now expects total restructuring costs of about $169 million in 2020, but warned that the restructuring program – referred to internally as “The Rewire” – was likely to incur more charges.
- Crash on I-40 in Arkansas kills 3 motorcyclists, hurts 4
- 3 Black Sabbath MC Killed By Wrong Way Driver in Arkansas 4 Injured
- The Waco Biker Shootout Left Nine Dead. Why Was No One Convicted?
- Bikers Hating Bikers
- Appeals court reinstates civil rights lawsuits of dozens of bikers arrested in 2015 Twin Peaks shootout
- Does MC Mean Men’s Club
India, still far cheaper and poorer than many of the developing economies with which it competes for investment, has proven an inhospitable market for other auto industry players.
Source: Indian Express Newspaper