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Harley Davidson to discontinue operations in India

Last Updated 24 September 2020, 13:05 IST

American premium motorcycle manufacturer Harley Davidson has decided to stop sales and production in India.

The company, which began India operations in 2009, was manufacturing select models at its plant in Bawal (Haryana).

“The Company announced to employees additional restructuring actions related to the set of actions that it refers to as 'The Rewire'. The Company previously disclosed restructuring actions associated with The Rewire that were approved through August 5, 2020,” Harley Davidson said in its regulatory filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday.

“Between August 6, 2020 and September 23, 2020, the Company approved commitments to additional restructuring actions under The Rewire related to optimizing its global dealer network, exiting certain international markets, and discontinuing its sales and manufacturing operations in India. The India action will include an associated workforce reduction of approximately 70 employees,” the filing further said.

The Indian auto industry was already going through a prolonged slowdown and the Covid-19 pandemic made things worse for the premium motorcycle and car segments.

The Rewire, the company said, was part of its strategy to concentrate on “approximately 50 markets primarily in North America, Europe and parts of Asia Pacific that represent the vast majority of the company's volume and growth potential.”

There were also recent reports that Sajeev Rajasekharan, Managing Director, Asia Emerging Markets and India, would be transferred to Singapore and their sales and marketing operations in India would be reduced.

In India, data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) showed that the company's domestic sales figure in the 2019-20 financial year was just under 2,500 units (2,470 for 2019-20 vs 2,676 for 2018-19). In comparison, Royal Enfield sold just over 42,000 units in FY 2019-20, according to SIAM.

Not very long ago, Harley Davidson had announced prices for its BS-VI range and had even slashed prices of its cheapest model -- the Street 750 -- to Rs 4.69 lakh. The company was selling 13 models in India. The Fat Boy is priced at Rs 18.25 lakh, while the CVO Limited is around Rs 50 lakh.

Harley Davidson used to manufacture the Street family in India and also assemble completely knocked down kits of bigger motorcycles.

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(Published 24 September 2020, 11:24 IST)

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