It’s a Possibility
Not long ago, it came to light that Harley-Davidson would be pulling out of India due to its massive restructuring initiative. There are 33 Harley dealerships in India, and rather than totally abandon the dealerships and current and former customers, Harley is in talks with Hero MotoCorp to keep things going.
Hero would be the exclusive distributor for The Motor Company. “Hero will be the master distributor for Harley bikes in India,” said one anonymous source. “This will be a partnership, a strategic alliance,” which was reported by RideApart and others.
The deal is focused first and foremost on the distribution of Harley-Davidson’s motorcycles, but Hero MotoCorp could also produce motorcycles for Harley. Reportedly Harley and Hero are in talks for 300cc to 600cc motorcycles. This could even result in 6.4 million units in the 2020 fiscal year. It’s all up in the air at this time and the anonymous source is far from being confirmation from either company.
This could be a huge move for Harley in India. What looked like it could be a true failure, might actually totally transform the company in the country. There are a lot of questions about what will come, but at the moment, it looks like Harley could not only stay in India but possibly thrive.