Hero Harley partnership is now official and it is one of the most interesting news of the year, as it allows a much bigger scope to both the makers…
Harley Davidson surprised everyone by announcing the closure of its Bawal plant and terminating sales and service operations of its Indian subsidiary which was present here since the last decade (details), in September 2020. However, as we discussed, Harley shared a very cryptic press note which, along with few other speculations, gave us a ray of hope that something is still cooking for its Indian operations.
And today, there has been an official announcement of a strategic partnership between the American motorcycling behemoth Harley Davidson and India’s largest motorcycle seller Hero MotoCorp.
Hero will now take care of the sales and service of Harley Davidson motorcycles in India. This would naturally apply to the new and existing customers of the brand. Additionally, Hero will also be responsible for retailing spare parts, accessories, riding gear and other general merchandise for the brand Harley.
It appears that Hero will take over the existing Harley dealerships in India and manage them in the future. The press note also clears that Harley Davidson motorcycles can also be sold by Hero through its own dealership network. It will be interesting to see if and how the Indian company actually retails premium Harleys through its extensive dealership chain.
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It appears that this joint venture was already under discussion (or probably finalized) when Harley announced its exit last month. This is a part of Harley’s Rewire strategy that suggests focusing on the profitable business markets and exiting markets which are non-profitable.
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This is a massive update for the Indian market as Harley will be able to continue selling its motorcycles here and that too through the might of Hero MotoCorp. However, going will not be very easy as Hero doesn’t have a mastery in selling premium motorcycles. But will it be able to sell premium motorcycles through an established international brand…?
Next read: Interesting: Harley Deal Allows Hero to ‘Develop’ Premium Motorcycles
