Harley Davidson to Enter Indian Auto Market!

August 22, 2009, 10:10 IST by Satish Kalepu

Bike lovers in India are in for a pleasant surprise. Harley Davidson is ready to make its foray in the Indian market. What is more pleasant about it is that this can happen on a very short notice now.

The legendary Harley-Davidson had discarded its earlier plan to enter India as the import duty structure was not feasible for business. However, the present duty rates appear to be viable for Harley-Davidson to invest in the Indian automobile market. It plans a major scale up of its operations in the world's second largest two-wheeler market.

Harley Davidson is an iconic American brand and it added another iconic brand, Italian MV Augusta, to its kitty last year. Matt Levatich, president and chief operating officer of Harley Davidson is expected to arrive in India next week. It is also anticipated that Indian auto market will witness an array of luxury bikes from Harley Davidson in next two years. The company has already been in talks with Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in India to open its own retail outlet in India.


Comments on this article

  • Fourth world quality pushed by first world marketing machine - that is what Harley Davidson bikes are. They are poorly engineered, very unreliable for the price you pay, guaranteed to be expensive because of the "premium" bike hype slapped on these inefficient monsters, and guaranteed to give you lousy value for money. If you want a cruiser, import a nice Japanese cruiser for less money, enjoy its reliability, smoothness, and better comfort. When I was living in the USA, I had a variety of sport bikes, all of them Japanese, and Harley riders would throw a lot of attitude whenever I passed them. That's all they can throw at a Ninja anyway - attitude! There is no way a HD is ever going to provide the sheer fun and sizzle of a sport bike made by a good Japanese maker, but even in cruisers, the Japanese bikes are way ahead. HD - pure junk.

    May 08, 2010 by  B S Kumar
  • Yahoo... This is a very good news for me. Till date I was not having any other option except Royal Enfield. But now the count down starts. Aab Maazaa Aaayeegaa....

    August 26, 2009 by  Komal Sharma
  • If harley comes to India, I will own one too. I ride a Bullet 350 (1985 Model) and I keep dreaming of riding a HD even when I am on the bullet. We need more power on our bikes. This is a blessing to all Bike lovers.

    August 23, 2009 by  Sunil
  • As an expat American pilot living and working in Mumbai...this is great news as I will plan on shipping my (2) HD's to India which are presently in storage in USA. I have RE 350 Machismo here in Mumbai now, but welcome the opportunity to ride my Road King Classic and custom shovelhead chopper in future. Let's Ride!

    August 23, 2009 by  Captain R Cloos
  • We need to beleive this! We were living with Bullet350, Rajdoot, Rajdoot175, YEZDI, its OILKING and ROAD KING but practicaly Rajdoot or YEZDI life (1970-1980s). But we were respected in the road. I remember my drives from Purasaiwakam to Paris in YEZDI, was getting attention and road to drive. I lived with posters of HD! Now do our roads are safe? No matter what, I welcome HD, no doubt.

    August 22, 2009 by  Nksabai

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