Harley Davidson Street 750 and 500 will be Made in India: Official

Harley-Davidson’s latest project is the Street 500 and the 750. On this event, we speak to Mr Anoop Prakash, Managing Director of Harley-Davidson India and find out more about this new project of their and also ask him about Harley-Davidson brand’s future plans.

Q1)So, when is the Street expected to come to India?
Ans)The Street 750 will be showcased for the first time at the India Bike Week and then the pricing of this bike will be announced at the Auto Expo on the 5th of February. After that it is when the bookings will commence from that very day across all the 13 Harley-Davidson showrooms in India. The pricing of the Street 750 will be below Rs 5 lakhs and the deliveries will begin sometime in June.

Q2) Why is it that we are getting only Street 750, what are the plans for Street 500?
Ans)The Street 500 is also in the pipeline and it will be launched next year. India is a very important market for us and we will introduce both the Street products here.

Q3)How about the localisation of the product?
Ans)Harley Street 500 and 750 will be manufactured in India and will be exported to other markets. India will be the only other hub for Harley to export bikes. Once the production commences, it will be of both 500 and 750 and it will go to about 5 markets this year. Next year onwards, we will export it to 85 different markets. Talking about localisation, it won’t be much of localisation as we have global vendors for the United States and Indian plant, to retain the same quality of the product.

Q4)Why do you think this is the perfect bike for India that you are also commencing production, not even assembly?
Ans)The Street is the most-researched bike in the Harley line-up. This is an urban cruiser for those who are passionate and love riding. We have carried out an extensive survey in 10 countries, of which one is India. We are targeting the youth and the passionates living in urban culture and cities like Mumbai and Delhi are big when it comes to urban. Hence, India is an important market for the Street and it will mostly target urban cities.

Q5) You already have 4000 Harleys and 13 dealerships, what’s more in the store to expand your reach?
Ans)We are looking at expanding and this year we will have three more dealerships in new cities. We have been focusing on growing our reach and yes and that’s what everyone does.

Q6) Will brands like Triumph and Indian eat into your market share?
Ans)The Indian market is growing and we don’t think they will eat into our market. As more and more brands will invest in India, it will show their commitment to this market and this will attract more buyers for them and us as well. So, it is a good sign for us that several other brands are entering India and the market has a good future. Now, till the time they set this foot step we will be having an advantage as we have been in the Indian market for the last 5 years and they are still new.