The Road Less Travelled

The exit of this iconic company from India has shocked dealers who have invested huge sums in their showrooms. They’ve appointed a law firm for probable legal action for higher compensation from Harley

- Shivanand Pandit

IT’S been a rough year for the world’s most prominent motorcycle brand, Harley-Davidson. The introduction of a new product, LiveWire, is yet to give the anticipated outcome, whereas at the corporate level, tussles have been enormous. Obviously, these problems are the result of decades of weak choices which ultimately led to the expelling of the company’s CEO and its own departure from the Indian marketplace.

Undoubtedly, India is a good market for two-wheelers and their sales touch millions annually. This is the reason why India is considered the world’s single major motorcycle market. To take advantage of the massive demand, Harley-Davidson in 2009 set foot in India. However, the company managed to sell just about 25,000 units in the course of ten years. Moreover, the entity took a long time to understand that Indians like small-displacement bikes and not the high-end Harley-Davidsons.

Covid-19 added to the challenges for the premium and iconic brand worldwide. As a result, the company is even striving in its home market, the US. For 2020, the complete rearrangement of cost is frozen at $169 million as the top management looks at stiffened supplies and manufacturing cuts. The product portfolio is anticipated to decrease by 30 percent and the emphasis will be exclusively for the North American, European and select Asia-Pacific markets.