American motorcycle manufacturer Harley Davidson, said on March 4, 2013, that it will assemble three more of its motorcycles in the Indian market. The company also said that it will cut its prices so that the bikes are made more affordable to the country’s price-conscious customers.
The company said that it will assemble its Fat Boy Special, Heritage Softail Classic and Fat Boy models in India and will import kits from the US. The locally assembled models will cost between 1.5 million rupees and 1.7 million rupees, which is 23% cheaper than before.
Harley Davidson already assembles half of the 12 models that it sells in the country at a facility in Bawal, in the northern state of Haryana. On the other hand, the other models are imported as fully-assembled models. This decision by the company has come after India decided to increase the import tax on expensive motorcycles and cars.
Finance minister P Chidambaram, while unveiling the federal budget starting April 1, 2013, said that it will increase the import tax on motorcycles with the engine capacity of at least 800 cubic centimeters to 75% from 60%. Most Harley Davidson motorcycles in India start from 883 cubic centimeters and this would attract the additional import tax as well. The average motorcycle lover in India will surely be looking forward to what the new prices of these vehicles will be.
