Welcome home the HOGS….

With Harley Davidson India celebrating its maiden Indian Market invasion
anniversary in recent past, there is buzz in Indian Market weather the US based
bike manufacturer will start its second outside assembly facility outside the US
after Japan, so that we can have the Harleys completely knocked down (CKD)
position here.

According to the managing director, Harley-Davidson India Anoop Prakash

“Harley-Davidson is all about how we build our motorcycles”. Which could means
that if H-D comes up with a new assembly plant in India they will do it on their
own and not under a joint venture. If that occurs, H-D will be the first superbikes
company who will start assembling here in India. With the high import duty still
being a concern with the imported auto manufactures, Harley Davidson sells bikes
in the range of Rs 6.95 to Rs 34.95 lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi) in the country
which can go down by around 25% if they sell it in a CKD position. With 3 dealer
ship by the end of September & 12 models rolling on the Indian roads a lot
depends upon how they perform in the market in the year 2010.

The good part of having an assembling unit in India is that they review their supply
& operations plan for Asian, Middle East and European markets where H-D has a
huge potential growth. In this part of the world, Japan automatically being the
largest in terms of volumes, H-D also has a strong presence in China, Taiwan &
Australia. Reportedly, sales have been satisfactory at both lower as well as higher
end which would mean that H-D buyers may attract a disappointment in terms of
discount or price correction.