Harley-Davidson banks on Hero MotoCorp partnership

New Delhi With high customs duty impeding sales of its imported big bikes in India, Harley-Davidson is banking on the partnership with Hero MotoCorp to offer locally-produced premium models in the country, according to company's Chairman, President and CEO Jochen Zeitz.

India imposes 50 per cent customs duty on imported fully built up bikes, which makes the American cult bike-maker feel that partnering with Hero has turned out to be a good decision after deciding to exit its manufacturing operations in India three years back. Zeitz noted that the tie-up with Hero MotoCorp is allowing the Milwaukee-based bike maker to go for "volume opportunities" by introducing a competitive product in the Indian market. "And (there is) a lot of upside with much greater manufacturing capability that Hero brings in and the willingness to invest into the business, to really build us up as a brand. So, I would say it is the right decision," he said.

Zeitz noted that the company would like to get its big bikes into the market without having to pay huge customs duty. "That (high customs duty) is the downside. But X440 is made in India. It does not have tariffs, so that's a positive for those who want to get an experience of the Harley brand," he said. Last week, Harley and Hero introduced their first co-developed product in India - Harley-Davidson X 440 - with price starting at Rs 2.29 lakh.

The bike is being produced by Hero MotoCorp at its Neemrana-based plant. Harley-Davidson had announced to discontinue sales and manufacturing operations in India in September 2020. Before that it had an assembly plant at Bawal in Haryana. In October 2020, Hero MotoCorp and Harley-Davidson announced a partnership for the Indian market. The deal envisaged Hero MotoCorp developing and selling a range of premium motorcycles under the Harley-Davidson brand in the country.