[BoneCollector]

Harley Davidson decides to wrap up India business.

Details here.

Harley-Davidson has decided to discontinue its sales and manufacturing operations in India, as part of restructuring actions that the company refers to as 'The Rewire' strategy. On Thursday, Harley-Davidson informed its employees of additional restructuring costs amounting to $75 million in 2020, which includes discontinuing the iconic American brand's operations in India. Total costs associated with 'The Rewire' strategy outlined by Jochen Zeitz, President, Chairman and CEO of Harley-Davidson amount to $169 million this year. The motorcycle brand expects to complete the restructuring actions from August to be completed within the next 12 months, which will include optimising its global dealer network, exiting certain international markets and discontinuing its sales and manufacturing operations in India. In India, Harley-Davidson will reduce the workforce by approximately 70 employees.

[motor spirit]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

Harley Davidson decides to wrap up India business.

Details here.

Is It complacency, or lack of low end product line, or is the India market not mature for bikes costing > 8~10 Lakhs or is it the hot debate of the month - tax structures, or a snowball of all.
Whatsoever, sad to hear that they are stopping production. Above all the above press release also says discontinuation of sales which means no fresh & new HD bike sale in India anymore .
Hope the guys who have bought HD bikes spending millions get after sale support from HD at least, as there is no word on that in the above statement.

Mod Note - Please put space after a punctuation and not before it. Please capitalize after completing a sentence which ends with a full stop.
Thank You.

[embee]

Harley-Davidson Exits India Due to Low Sales, Part of Global Restructuring Process.



U.S. motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson said on Thursday it expects to report $75 million in additional restructuring costs for 2020 related to actions including discontinuing its sales and manufacturing operations in India. 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 said earlier in the year that it planned to reduce its product portfolio and exit lower volume markets, without specifying which ones.

The company said it now expects total restructuring costs of about $169 million in 2020, and this will also include a workforce reduction of about 70 employees in India, a market where its annual sales volumes account for less than 5% of the company's total.

Its Indian branch is based in Gurugram, Haryana, where it commenced operations in August 2009 and appointed its first dealership in July 2010.

Harley-Davidson's global portal suggests that the latest set of actions are a part of an initiative called ‘The Rewire’, that will be further developed over the coming months, leading to a new strategic plan.

Source: https://www.news18.com/news/auto/har...s-2905231.html

[adwaith]

I didn't think it would stop sales as well. It does come as a surprise. I thought they would just give up manufacturing. So what happens to the dealerships now and also how will the bike owners get their vehicle serviced?

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Another American company decides to pack up and leave! If Chevrolet was at the bottom of the market when they left, Harley leaves from the top!

India is a low volume market - sure! But, Harley Davidson had a 46% marketshare of the premium motorcycle segment (from amidst reported numbers) in 2019, with sales of 2496 units. In comparison, Canada sold 8946 units last year and Latin America had 9768. Surely not bad enough to pack up and leave, just because of poor Indian numbers.

And its not that Harley couldn't have improved the numbers - we never received the entry level Street 500 to keep the brand premium. The new 'Chinese' entry level motorcycle could have got them some volumes too.



Harley Davidson is in trouble, globally. But if they are packing up and leaving now - it is mostly because they can, without getting a ton of lawsuits against the brand. Hope their 'return to the roots' strategy works out, because if it backfires - they can't return to emerging markets like India anymore.

Hope they at least act responsiby and make sure the loyal band of owners are well taken care of!

[Aditya]

Harley Davidson decides to wrap up India business - Posts moved to a new thread.

[RedTerrano]

Originally Posted by motor spirit

Hope the guys who have bought HD bikes spending Millions get after sale support from HD at least , as there is no word on that in the above statement

Isn't there some law which says you should continue to ensure availability of spares for x years after you shut down operations/discontinue the model? If not the current owners are left in a hot soup.

[GTO]

Lots of contributors, but chiefly, Harley USA has bigger fires to fight, what with declining big bike sales in America & now the blow from Covid-19. Harley India had a leadership vacuum at the top, after 1 or 2 good bosses (Anoop Prakash, Vikram Pawah). All the CEOs talk, and GM (fully) + Ford (partially) exiting India has been seen as a tough but necessary move by their investors. After all, out of 100 markets that you are present in, you have to pick & choose where you will invest time + money. I will agree with Harley's decision to exit India, given the circumstances. If I was Harley USA's CEO, I would exit India (and other bit markets) too.

Originally Posted by RedTerrano

Isn't there some law which says you should continue to ensure availability of spares for x years after you shut down operations/discontinue the model?

Nothing hard & fast about it. Plus, there are a few new cars whose spares aren't available for months . Good luck suing a company that is gone from India. Do you think any Beat owner can sue Chevrolet?

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by RedTerrano

Isn't there some law which says you should continue to ensure availability of spares for x years after you shut down operations/discontinue the model? If not the current owners are left in a hot soup.

I really don’t know about these sort of laws in India. We have something like that here in Europe. But even with these laws, you are, as you say, left in a hot soup.

Maintenance will become difficult and part prices will shoot up, parts availability will be non existent very soon and lead times to get parts from the USA will be measured in years.

What are you going to do? Complain to the HD folks in the USA?

The one thing to hope for is that a few enthusiastic dealers, manage to keep it going. Become independent, find their own way to source parts, keep the knowledge and competence to service and repair these bikes. At the end this will come down to whether there are sufficient HDs around to make it a viable business in a particular area.

Very sad.

Jeroen

[bf1983]

I had messaged them on Facebook and got this automated response. Take it for what it is -

"Harley-Davidson is changing its business model in India and evaluating options to continue to serve customers.
Our current dealer network will continue to provide sales and service support through the end of their contract term and we will follow up with updates.
Please visit our website www.harley-davidson.com to find a nearby authorized Harley-Davidson dealer.
For more details or queries, please call 18001026180 or email at rideindia@harley-davidson.com"

[Abhi_Automobile]

Sad sad day, actually. Though I have to say, given its global mess, it’s purely business decision.

The problem is that globally HD has had a few flip-flops in strategy already, from ‘Mnay road to HD’, to‘Rewire’ now.....it needs to now make the best of this decision and really turn around its business in other markets (most importantly US).

The problem is - it’s a catch 22. They were in the exact opposite corner a while ago, with new and relevant products in development galore. And now, it’s all about consolidation. So, there is no consistency in their strategy and planning. That is what makes me worried about this iconic brand globally.

Any HD owners among us here?

PS: Never been big HD fan myself!

[GTO]

Here is the official statement from Harley-India:

HARLEY-DAVIDSON REWIRES BUSINESS MODEL IN INDIA

Delhi, India (September 24, 2020) - Harley-Davidson, Inc. (“Harley-Davidson”) today announced that as part of The Rewire, an overhaul of its operating model and market structure, the company is changing its business model in India and evaluating options to continue to serve its customers.

Harley-Davidson plans to close its manufacturing facility in Bawal and significantly reduce the size of its sales office in Gurgaon. The company is communicating with its customers in India and will keep them updated on future support. The Harley-Davidson dealer network will continue to serve customers through the contract term.

These actions are aligned with The Rewire which is planned to continue through the end of 2020, leading to The Hardwire, a new strategic plan for 2021-2025 aimed at building desirability for the Harley-Davidson brand and products.

[RSR]

I'm very, very disappointed by the lack of long term strategy and vision exhibited by American automobile companies. First General Motors and now Harley Davidson. Ford have become a minority partner in their own company and have let Mahindra take the driver's seat. I would not be surprised if Jeep also decide to work out a partnership with Citroën under Stellantis or whatever to maintain a presence in India.

Sad day for all those who trusted the brand enough to buy their bikes.

P.S.: The official statement does not inspire much confidence. It's not going to be a total, sudden withdrawal, that's all. I have no doubt that they will cease to exist completely within a couple of years.

[bj96]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

...
The one thing to hope for is that a few enthusiastic dealers, manage to keep it going. Become independent, find their own way to source parts, keep the knowledge and competence to service and repair these bikes. At the end this will come down to whether there are sufficient HDs around to make it a viable business in a particular area.
...

There are about 30k Harleys in India. With average service cost of 10k/service (actually it will be more) it is about 30-40 Cr market annually (just the service) plus add parts and other services like RSA etc.

It will be a good niche business to run, I think.

-BJ

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by bf1983

"Harley-Davidson is changing its business model in India and evaluating options to continue to serve customers.
Our current dealer network will continue to provide sales and service support through the end of their contract term and we will follow up with updates.

From what I understand, they are closing the factory and production of the Street/ Street Rod as well CKD operations of the other bikes.

As per my known contacts, they will continue to sell CBU models as well spares for the past models. They have a ready customer base of thousands of bikes which will need spares &service. With a lean organisation, they can make profits from CBU sales & services. They went looking for the numbers and invested heavily, but the returns never came. They must have foreseen more pressure on the lower CC bikes. 310 is picking up and Honda is coming out with a new bike.

If this is correct information, I don't think existing owners or future buyer of CBU variants should not have any major concerns. They could have worded their statement little differently, perhaps. Maybe they want to pressure the Government to lower custom duties which still are 50% and these bikes attract 31% GST.