Harley Davidson to abandon India operations

Harley Davidson has decided to discontinue its sales and production in India. The company was manufacturing selected models at its plant in Bawal (Haryana). Harley Davidson in its regulatory filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says, “The Company announced to employees additional restructuring actions associated with The Rewire that were approved through August 5, 2020. 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 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.

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. Before some time, 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.