Harley-Davidson has announced the brand’s decision to discontinue sales and manufacturing operations in India, as part of the brand’s ‘Rewire’ strategy. Harley-Davidson India has released a press statement saying that the company will shut down its manufacturing facility in Bawal, and the sales office in Gurugram will be significantly reduced in size. The made-in-India Harley-Davidson models, the Harley-Davidson Street 750 and the Harley-Davidson Street Rod will now be discontinued. According to a source, a decision to discontinue the Street range was taken months ago, and that is why Harley-Davidson India was offering massive discounts on these models.
Only last month, Harley-Davidson announced massive price cuts on the Street range of motorcycles. The Street 750, India’s highest-selling Harley-Davidson motorcycle, is also the most affordable, and the company announced a price cut of ₹ 65,000, lowering the price to ₹ 4.69 lakh (Ex-showroom). The Harley-Davidson Street Rod, on the other hand, was offered with price cuts of ₹ 77,000 with prices starting at ₹ 5.99 lakh (Ex-showroom). In fact, Harley-Davidson Street 750 used to Harley-Davidson India’s highest-selling model, accounting for over 80 percent of Harley-Davidson’s sales in India for several years in a row.
According to one source familiar with the developments, the price cuts for the Street range were announced to liquidate existing stock of motorcycles. With Harley-Davidson planning to shut down manufacturing operations in India, both the Street 750 and Street Rod would have been discontinued anyway. Now, Harley-Davidson has said that the dealership network in India, totaling 33 across the country, will continue to support existing customers through the contract term. But each dealership will have a different contract term and there’s still no concrete announcement on how existing customers will be served in the future, in terms of service and spares.