A Look at the Qianjiang Motorcycle Company
By now, you’ve probably heard of the partnership between Harley-Davidson and Qianjiang Motorcycle Company. The two companies will team up to produce a 338cc motorcycle for the Chinese market. While Harley needs a small displacement machine, teaming up with a Chinese motorcycle company is an interesting move.
Qianjiang Motorcycle Company isn’t some odd choice, though. Harley definitely did its homework before deciding to team up. The Qianjiang Motorcycle Company is a motorcycle company that’s pretty well-known in the market. The company also owns Benelli, according to RideApart. It purchased the brand in 2005.
Since then it’s worked to build up this brand more, and now says the moto is “European design, Japanese quality with Chinese cost.” Qianjiang Motorcycle Company owns several different brands. Benelli is probably their best known, and the new Harley 338cc motorcycle will likely take after the Benelli TNT 300. That’s not a bad thing.
It’s also important to note that Qianjiang Motorcycle Company is owned by Geely, which is China’s biggest automotive company. It owns Volvo, Polestar, and much of Daimler’s Smart brand. The company also owns Link & Co, an electric car brand.
All of this means that the Qianjiang Motorcycle Company has the backing to help Harley do whatever it needs to in the motorcycle space. It will be interesting to see how this develops. One thing’s for sure, though, this is an interesting move and one that could reshape Harley in the future.