Harley-Davidson may yet have a future in India. Two-wheeler giant Hero MotoCorp and Harley-Davidson have announced a distribution agreement for the country.
Under the new agreement, Hero MotoCorp will sell and service Harley-Davidson motorcycles in India. It will also take on the distribution of genuine Harley parts, accessories, riding gear, apparel and general merchandise through exclusive Harley-Davidson dealers and via its existing dealership network in India.
This certainly takes care of existing customers in India. However, Hero has plans to win over new customers as well. Also under the agreement, Hero has been given free reign to develop and selling a range of premium motorcycles under the Harley-Davidson brand name.
This means that Harley-Davidson could see some unique models bearing the bar and shield in India. With carte blanche over the Indian market, Hero will be free to create models that closer meet their country’s needs, likely being smaller displacement motorcycles, not necessarily cruisers.
There’s still no word on whether the upcoming Indian Harley-Davidsons will simply be Hero models with a Harley badge or completely new ones. However, if a similar Bajaj-KTM deal in the past is anything to go by, it could mean more Harley-Davidson models that are more appealing to the Asian market in general. Proof of this is the KTM 200 Duke and Bajaj Pulsar (Rouser) NS 200, both of which have become extremely popular thanks to their performance and price points.
