The Indian arm of Harley Davidson, the iconic and one-of-a-kind American motorcycle manufacturer, launched a brand new cruiser bike called 'Fat Bob' in the country on November 22, 2012. The new Harley is offered to domestic cruiser motorcycle enthusiasts at a price tag of Rs. 12.8 lacs (in the ex-showroom of New Delhi).
The immensely powerful 2012 Harley Davidson Fat Bob Cruiser will be marketed via Completely Knocked Down (CKD) route in the country and will get assembled at company's Bawal based manufacturing unit in Haryana. The motorcycle comes fitted with a mammoth of a 1.6 litre, 1585 cc powertrain, which is assimilated with a six speed cruise drive transmission. Further, the Harley Fat Bob motorcycle boasts off a fuel tank capacity of 18.8 litres, which entails the cruiser to embark on a short intercity driving and adventure trips with both comfort and panache.
Expressing his views about the launch of Fat Bob cruiser bike in the country, Anoop Prakash, Managing Director, Harley Davidson India, said, “The launch of the Fat Bob as CKD (completely knocked down unit; the bike is imported in parts and the final assembly is done in India) will allow more customers to experience our Dyna range at an attractive price point.”
Prakash affirmed that Harley Davidson India is well aware of the latent demand for its motorcycles in the country and is taking all possible steps to spread more awareness about the brand in tier-II domestic cities and towns. When enquired about the company's next motorcycle assembling project after Fat Bob at its Bawal unit, the MD 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.”
Regarding Harley Davidson's strategy for Indian imported premium two-wheeler market, Prakash 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.”
Reportedly, the legendary American motorcycle maker started its business operations on Indian turf in 2009. The total wholesale numbers for Harley Davidson India stood close to 1000 units during 2011 and the company has estimated to double its sales figures by this year's end. At present, some 13 Harley models are offered to domestic consumers from the bike maker's 9 retail outlets present in the country. Interestingly, Harley Davidson has manufacturing operations only in Brazil and India countries, apart from its home territory United States.
