Will the Harley come to India?

The Harley Davidson may come to India if import duties are cut.

10 May, 2007

If you want to see a Harley Davidson on Indian roads, snip import duties, the government has been told by the US bike maker. With the US government too locking horns with the Union Commerce Ministry on the issue of lobbying for the iconic motor cycle brand, the scene has got even hotter.

According to the bike maker there are import duties of 60 per cent that makes a Harley Davidson expensive in India. This apart, the additional 30 per cent local taxes may double the prices. While the bike maker looks forward to the government cutting import duties to the levels of average industrial tariffs in India, a Harley official said the company does not have definite plans as of now for India. But he added that the company hopes to be in India sometime in the future.

It has been reported that Harley Davidson has been lobbying hard through the US government for duty cuts. However, the Commerce Ministry has ruled out any customs duty concessions The government is adamant that bringing down duties on bikes won’t happen as of now.

While giving a thumbs up to the government move to accept Euro-III emission norms for large-engine motorcycles, the Harley official said that he was are extremely pleased that the Indian government has agreed to harmonize its emission norms with Euro-III standards. Significantly, India, till recently, had not specified emission standards for motorcycles with engine capacity above 500 cubic centimeters. This in turn had ruled out the import of vehicles from Harley Davidson, Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd. and Suzuki Motor.

Meanwhile, industry experts feel that despite the high duties, there exists a sizeable market in India for big bikes. If Harley hesitates, there are others who will grab the opportunity. Waiting in the wings are Suzuki with its GSX-R1000 and 749 cc GSX-R750, Yamaha with its 998 cc YZF-R1 and the 600 cc YZF-R6 and Honda with its proposed big bike.