The trade deal between India and US makes Harley-Davidson motorcycles completely free of import duties in the Indian market
Recently, India and the United States of America (USA) signed a historic trade deal, which is expected to have a positive impact on the automotive industry in both these countries. The interim trade framework was finalised earlier this week and it ensures reduced duties on American bikes imported in India. The India-US trade deal will benefit Harley-Davidson the most as all its imported models between 800cc and 1600cc will now be sold duty free in India, which will make them cheaper than ever before and accessible to a wider range of people.
The formal trade agreement is expected to be signed around March-April. We can expect Harley-Davison to announce a price cut on its 800cc and 1600cc range of motorcycles in India in the next couple of months. The US-based Indian Motorcycles is also likely to be benefitted from this trade deal, but exact details are not known yet.
Harley-Davidson presently imports multiple models between the 800-1600cc engine capacity in the Indian market. The company’s popular motorcycles such as Nightster, Sportster S, Street Bob, Heritage Classic, Pan America 1250 Special, Fat Boy, Breakout, Street Glide, and Road Glide are sold in India. In addition, the CVO (Custom Vehicle Operations) versions of the Street Glide and Road Glide are also imported in India.
Harley-Davidson also retails a couple of middleweight motorcycles in India, which are locally developed in partnership with Hero MotoCorp. The HD X440 and HD X440 T will remain unaffected by the India-US trade deal and their prices will remain unchanged. The exact reduction in price on the 800-1600cc range of bikes will be known in the coming weeks.
Surprisingly, the India-US trade deal doesn’t give concession to EVs in any form. This move is seen as a cover for the flourishing Indian electric vehicle industry from the foreign brands. The Union government presently provides incentives to several electric two-wheeler brands in order to boost local manufacturing in the form of the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.
Currently, no US-based electric two-wheeler brand is active in the Indian market. However, Zero Motorcycles, the EV-only brand based in the US, has partnered with Hero MotoCorp for developing electric bikes for the India-based automaker. But since the trade deal has completely excluded electric brands, Zero Motorcycles is unlikely to start its own retail operations in India.
