Iconic US two-wheeler manufacturer, Harley Davidson is eyeing tier-2 cities and smaller towns in India to spread its presence in the country. Talking to reporters on the launch of the Fat Bob bike in New Delhi, Harley Davidson India Managing Director Anoop Prakash said, “We are looking to expand our dealer network. Currently, we have nine showrooms and by the end of the year we will have our tenth and next year we will add three more in Jaipur, Indore and Pune." He also said that the company has taken a conscious decision of spreading its presence in smaller towns as there is a good demand for Harley Davidson bikes in these towns.
Prakash further said, “We are getting a good pull in smaller towns. There are a lot of people who have the same key attributes as we have, in wanting personal freedom. The kind of enthusiasm we had received in a place like Kochi was the same as in any metro." He also added that there was an overwhelming response during the Harley Rock Riders concert organised by the company in places like Shillong and Guwahati. Prakash further said that Harley Davidson by the end of this year, will cross a total sale figure of 2,000 units, since its entry in the Indian market in July 2010.
Answering to a question about assembling more models in the country in order to cut the prices of the bikes, he said, "Although there is no immediate plan for adding to our CKD line up, we will keep the option open for future in order to make our products affordable to customers."
While Harley Davidson plans to spread its arms to tier-2 cities, other auto makers in the country have already adopted the same strategy in order to increase their sales figure and make more customers. India's most trusted car maker, Maruti Suzuki India too had earlier announced that it would take its Alto 800 to smaller towns to maximise its sales. On the other hand, luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz too opened their dealership facility in Lucknow in August this year. The strategy of moving to non metros was not limited just to these car makers but BMW too followed the same path.
President BMW Group India, Philipp von Sahr had said, "Growth for luxury and premium car makers would now come from Non metros. While the metro cities still provide large chunk of the sales volume, the demand from smaller cities has grown rapidly. With income levels soaring many of our customers are coming from non metro towns and we seek to get closer to them by opening more dealerships in tier-II cities."
