Hero Motocorp to sell Harley Davidson bikes in India

• Hero Motocorp partners with Harley-Davidson after the company shut its local manufacturing units in India
• Hero signed a distribution agreement with Harley Davidson to sell and service Harley motorcycles in India
• With India being one of the world’s largest price-sensitive markets, Harley’s premium bikes suffered tepid sales, and this pandemic just made it worse.

India’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp has announced a distribution agreement with Harley-Davidson for the Indian market. Under this Hero will sell and service Harley motorcycles in the country.

“Hero MotoCorp will sell and service Harley-Davidson motorcycles and sell parts and accessories and general merchandise riding gear and apparel through a network of brand-exclusive Harley-Davidson dealers and Hero’s existing dealership network in India. As part of a Licensing agreement, Hero MotoCorp will develop and sell a range of premium motorcycles under the Harley-Davidson brand name,” the Pawan Munjal-led company said in a regulatory filing today.

The company said “this arrangement is mutually beneficial for both companies and riders in India, as it brings together the iconic Harley-Davidson brand with the strong distribution network and customer service of Hero MotoCorp.”

Harley’s exit from India

Harley-Davidson recently announced its exit from India, after it turned out to be one of the worst international markets for the company. On September 24, the company said that it would shut down the manufacturing facility in Bawal and significantly reduce the size of its sales office in Gurgaon in its filing to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). With India being one of the world’s largest price-sensitive markets, Harley’s premium bikes suffered tepid sales, and this pandemic just made it worse.

While announcing its exit, Harley said, “these actions are aligned with the Rewire which is planned to continue through the end of 2020, leading to The Hardwire, a new strategic plan for 2021-2025 aimed at building desirability for the Harley-Davidson brand and products.”


Harley estimates total restructuring costs to come to around $169 million in 2020. In August, Harley had indicated to reduce its product portfolio and exit some of the loss-making international markets to re-route its focus on the US business.

SEE ALSO: EXCLUSIVE: HCL Tech is expanding operations in Canada as H-1B visa issues persist

Bezos vs Ambani battle: Eight questions regarding Amazon's disclosures of Future deal will be in the spotlight

NEET counselling 2020 registrations begin today: Here’s all you need to know