Will Harley-Davidson’s be back with bigger play in India?

The American cult bike brand once sold 13 models in India before it shut its manufacturing and sales operations in 2020

New Delhi: Will US President Donald Trump’s insistence on ‘reciprocal tariffs’ lead to the American cult bike brand Harley-Davidson’s bigger play in India?

The Budget presented earlier in the month has already cut custom duties on imported premium bikes to make their entry cheaper.

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Currently down to selling one India-made X 440, co-developed with Indian partner Hero MotoCorp, and over five fully-built imported models, Harley-Davidson once sold 13 models in India with a starting price of Rs 4.69 lakh with 33 dealerships before it shut its manufacturing and sales operations in 2020 as it could not make a mark after more than a decade of presence in the country.

In the Union Budget 2025-26 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, custom duty on motorcycle with engine capacity of 1,600 cc and above imported as completely built unit (CBU) was slashed to 30 per cent from 50 per cent earlier and for those imported as semi-knocked down (SKD) units to 20 per cent from 205 per cent, while on completely knocked down (CKD) units to 10 per cent from 15 per cent earlier.

Similarly, import tariff on bikes with engine capacity not exceeding 1,600 cc in CBU form was cut to 40 per cent from 50 per cent earlier and for those imported in SKD form to 20 per cent from 25 per cent, while on CKD to 10 per cent from 15 per cent earlier.

As per industry observers, the US imposes zero tariffs on most of the imported bikes although two-wheelers of engine capacity between 500cc and 800 cc attract 1.2 per cent and those above 800 cc at 2.4 per cent.

According to an India-US joint statement after a discussion between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump at the White House, the leaders welcomed early steps to demonstrate mutual commitment to address bilateral trade barriers.

The US “welcomed India’s recent measures to lower tariffs on US products of interest in the areas of bourbon, motorcycles, ICT products and metals, as well as measures to enhance market access for US agricultural products, like alfalfa hay and duck meat, and medical devices”, it said.

“India also expressed appreciation for US measures taken to enhance exports of Indian mangoes and pomegranates to the United States,” the statement said, adding both sides also pledged to collaborate to enhance bilateral trade by increasing US exports of industrial goods to India and Indian exports of labour-intensive manufactured products to the US.

Query to Harley-Davidson’s Indian partner Hero MotoCorp on the possibility of expanding the brand’s model lineup in India if import tariffs were reduced further remained unanswered.

In 2007, the Indian government relaxed emission and testing norms for Harley-Davidson enabling it to enter the country in return for allowing mango exports to the US, by allowing the import of motorcycles up to 800 cc engine capacity or above subject to compliance to Euro III emission norms.

Besides, the then government removed the need for conducting homologation checks for these bikes, which were otherwise essential to see if imported vehicles meet Indian regulations, replacing it with test certificates from accredited agencies.

Later in 2009, the company announced the establishment of operations in India followed by the commencement of sales a year later. Initially, after entering India Harley-Davidson maintained that its bikes would not be manufactured anywhere outside the US so as not to dilute its ‘Made in America’ exclusivity, the company changed its stance and from early 2011 it started assembling motorcycles in India at its CKD assembly unit at Bawal in Haryana.

India was the second country where Harley-Davidson set up CKD assembly operations outside the US, after Brazil. However in 2020 the company decided to discontinue its sales and manufacturing operations in India as part of a global restructuring and closed the Bawal plant in Haryana.

The same year the company announced a partnership with India’s leading two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp through a distribution agreement. Under the agreement, the Indian partner agreed to sell and service Harley-Davidson motorcycles and sell parts and accessories and general merchandise riding gear and apparel through a network of brand-exclusive Harley-Davidson dealers and Hero MotorCorp’s existing dealership network in India.

In December last year, the two companies expanded their collaboration to introduce new products and agreed to introduce new trims of Harley-Davidson X440 and develop an all-new bike.