Harley Davidson to Open India Plant
Harley Davidson has announced plans to build it’s latest manufacturing plant, only the second such facility ever built outside of the United States, in the Haryana area of northern India. The “complete knock down” facility (where completed bikes will be assembled from parts manufactured in the States) is due to be completed sometime before the end of June 2011 and will focus on motorcycles tailored for the Indian market.
The facility, to be situated close to the town of Bawal, in the Rewari district will be strategically placed to service the already in-situ dealer infrastructure that Harley have been setting up over previous years and well-placed logistically next to India’s National Highway 8.
Although the plan is to assemble Harleys favored by the growing Indian market, complete bikes across other model ranges will still be imported in assembled form for the time being.
The move comes as Harley tries to increase its international sales from around 30% to 40% of overall sales over the next four years. Expanding into the second largest two-wheeler market in the world, behind China, is seen as a shrewd move by industry experts. By moving assembly into the country, Harley are also seeking to address high import duty costs passed onto Indian consumers for imported complete motorcycles. By assembling in-situ, the company will manage to avoid around 80% of the associated duty costs and hopes that this will encourage much greater growth and sales in the country.
There has been no official talk of output capacity from the company, or employment numbers for the area, but it will be seen as an extra boon for an already expanding industrial zone known as the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor.
