Reflecting the India’s booming auto industry, Harley Davidson the cult bike maker today announced it would assemble bikes in India. The milwakee based automaker is known to build bikes only in its hometown and export to other countries only exception being the Brazil. In Indian market, CBU attract 100%+ duties resulting in expensive price tag and CKD would reduce the cost significantly. Hence all the premium automakers like Mercedes and BMW are following the CKD route. Harley will join these auto makers to make its products competitive. Harley Indian assembly plant will come in Haryan and is expected to come up at 70,000 square feet of land. “The plant is likely to be operational by the first half of next year and investments in it will be a part of tens of millions of dollars that we are making in India,” he said.
Harley will assemble only a few models out of the 12 bikes that it sells in India priced between Rs 7.79 lakh and Rs 38.66 lakh. Harley-Davidson currently has four dealerships with the fifth one coming up next month in Bangalore. It will also add three more in Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Chennai/Kochi.