It was just last week when Harley-Davidson announced that it has wrapped its sales and manufacturing operations in India. The American motorcycle firm had taken this step under 'The Rewire' strategy outlined by the company’s newly appointed Chairman and CEO, Jochen Zeitz.
This news must have had come as a shocker to many enthusiasts, especially to the Harley-Davidson owners in the country. While the Indian arm of the American company has confirmed that all of its 33 dealerships in the nation will continue to provide service as well as spare parts support to the customers until their individual contract terms end.
While this should bring some relief to the owners, for the time being, the scenario once the contract terms of the dealerships expire would not be pleasant. Well, it seems that Hero MotoCorp might just save the day for the Harley-Davidson’s customers by taking over the firm’s service network in India.
As per the latest reports, Hero MotoCorp and Harley-Davidson are in talks regarding the former to handle the latter’s service network in India. This means that the existing owners of Harley-Davidson motorcycles in the country will receive service and spare parts support via the same dealerships which will be operated by Hero MotoCorp. It is to be noted that the negotiations between the two motorcycle giants do not include Harley-Davidson’s manufacturing facility located in Bawal. Both the companies are yet to release an official statement on this potential agreement.
Also Read: Hero Xtreme 160R – First Ride Review
Harley-Davidson entered the Indian market back in 2009. The company celebrated its 10 years of operations in the country earlier this year. However, its products haven’t been able to return the desired sales figures lately. For example, in the previous fiscal, Harley-Davidson sold less than 2,500 units in India. The constant declining sales chart could be one of the reasons that led the company to exit the domestic market.
Stay tuned to IndianAutosBlog.com for more Harley updates and other two-wheeler news.
