Harleys to be built in India

[Wolf]

It looks like they are building an assembly plant in India, how long until they realize the lower cost to build there and send it all over there?

 

http://www.google.com/url?url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hDa0x2B3eo354OC2sDnDgrvFR0GQ%3FdocId%3DCNG.07a5df7c6b6557b51ab3e6a8600d21ee.201&rct=j&sa=X&ei=yF7QTJf3LI-u8AbnnsSaBg&ved=0CDMQ-AsoATAA&q=harley+davidson&usg=AFQjCNESmJJOWzoJ9cRB4O3wo-FnRk5rXw

[MasterGuns]

It looks like they are building an assembly plant in India, how long until they realize the lower cost to build there and send it all over there?

 

http://www.google.com/url?url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hDa0x2B3eo354OC2sDnDgrvFR0GQ%3FdocId%3DCNG.07a5df7c6b6557b51ab3e6a8600d21ee.201&rct=j&sa=X&ei=yF7QTJf3LI-u8AbnnsSaBg&ved=0CDMQ-AsoATAA&q=harley+davidson&usg=AFQjCNESmJJOWzoJ9cRB4O3wo-FnRk5rXw

 

 

Not sure what you intented to communicate but I think may had been heading in the direction that costs to ship the parts from origin to India then to the U.S. may exceed cost to assemble the bikes here. But what's the dif between motorcycles manufactured in Japan, England, Italy, and now maybe India? They will all be foreign makes. So WTH?

 

With the additional cost our government is burdening on all companies with, big and small, we should all expect this. VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

[Wolf]

I did not state my point at all I see. I am curious to how that will affect the attitude of current Harley riders towards the metric riders?

[Flyinfool]

Supposedly that plant will only be to build bikes for sale in India.

But time will tell.

Here in Milwaukee that has been almost a daily news item for the last month.

[BigBoyinMS]

Probably won't change the attitudes at all. Many of the H-D parts are made in other countries now. In fact, my understanding is that the crank halves have been Indian made for some time.

[CrazyHorse]

Supposedly that plant will only be to build bikes for sale in India.

But time will tell.

Here in Milwaukee that has been almost a daily news item for the last month.

 

Yes they intend to sell to India they are running out of baby boomers here to buy their bikes they are losing market share in under 48 yr old http://www.hsdent.com/blog/2010/01/04/harley-davidson-raising-hell-in-india-or-trying-to-anyway/

[Bubber]

Let them sell them where they build them! :banana:

Oh Ya they can't afford to - - - - - muchless buy a HD.

Hey good luck with that.

[juggler]

They are going to make bikes in India to sell in India. Japan makes car in America to sell in America. Ford makes cars in Europe to sell in Europe. Global companies make products around the world to sell in the local economies.

[Eck]

Wonder if they will identify the ones made in India with a little red dot on the gas tank....

[Wolf]

Honda M/C tried that, back in Japan again.....

[BuckShot]

Wonder if they will identify the ones made in India with a little red dot on the gas tank....

 

[Bubber]

Wonder if they will identify the ones made in India with a little red dot on the gas tank....

 

Those are the electric starts, the turbins are the pull starters LMAO

 

Thanks for the laugh Eck!

Edited November 3, 2010 by Bubber

[cecdoo]

Wonder if they will identify the ones made in India with a little red dot on the gas tank....

 

 

Good one:clap2: I am still smiling:big-grin-emoticon: Craig

[Drreb]

Isn't India a very poor country? Or maybe that's Pakistan...In any event there cannot a big market for heavy cruisers over there.

[Guest PlaneCrazy]

Shipping anywhere in the world is a minor cost when you use slow, inexpensive ships for transport. Whereas labor costs are the #1 killer for companies like Harley. Looking at how the market is hurting lately (for all bike makers!) I wouldn't bet against Harley eventually using places like India for assembly of all their bikes for sale everywhere. At least until they finalize a Mexican deal

 

Just as an example.. the company I work for used to ship all our jet engines to Brazil to be overhauled. We're talking 9000 lb engines here. It was way more cheaper to send these huge engines half way around the world to Selma GE in Brazil then have them done by a company anywhere in Canada or the US. They did a great job on the overhauls too! Unfortunately, they no longer do work on these type of engines, so we now send them to Israel.

[Guest PlaneCrazy]

Isn't India a very poor country? Or maybe that's Pakistan...In any event there cannot a big market for heavy cruisers over there.

They have a lot of slums and poor.. very much a caste society... but they also have a huge and growing middle class population. And the level of education over there is very good. Just one of the reasons why everybody and their uncle uses Indian call centers for customer service.

[RSTDdog]

Union already made concessions to keep HD jobs in Milwaukee from going to Mexico. I think that article was posted up here a while back. Its a publicly traded company, shareholders want ROI and that means improving the bottom line.

 

Besides there is already a trained work force is India. They have been building Royal Enfields there for about the last 30 odd years, and since Harley's and the Royal Enfield are technologically similar, no significant retraining or education of the work force will be necessary.....

 

RSTDdog

[aharbi]

and since Harley's and the Royal Enfield are technologically similar,

 

 

you so bad. Royal Enfield basic design is 1930's, redone in the 50's when moved from England to India. Just got disk brakes and FI (on certain models) a few years ago. Good news is anyone can fix them with duct tape and bailing wire.

[DBOB]

This qoute from the article got me, notice the prices.

 

Harley sells bikes with engine capacities up to 1500cc that are priced between 695,000 rupees and 3.5 million rupees (15,660 dollars and 79,000 dollars).

I wonder which model is $79,000?

Don

[petekadish]

This sounds like the beginning of an identity crisis. Wouldn't this turn all of the H.D.s in to Indians?

 

And ..., I can just imagine what it will be like for all of those H.D. customers having to call customer service/support and having to deal with those call center representatives over there.

Pete.

[Guest scarylarry]

This sounds like the beginning of an identity crisis. Wouldn't this turn all of the H.D.s in to Indians?

 

And ..., I can just imagine what it will be like for all of those H.D. customers having to call customer service/support and having to deal with those call center representatives over there.

Pete.

 

Wonder if they will be like Dell, if want to speak to American you pay extra...

[Grisolm1]

I've been there and other developing countries. There is no market for big cruisers. The roads and drivers SUCKKKKKK. Life expectancy on anything that can't dart and weave like a small motorbike at relatively low speeds is measured in hours and weeks not years. You think cage drivers HERE are inconsiderate, you ain't seen nothing pal!!!! The only required piece of safety equipment between Western Europe and Japan is a horn.

 

Royal enfield 500 is a BIG bike there. I have a co worker in the software business who rides an enfield in India. Last time he was here here I gave him a ride on my venture. He had never seen such a big bike in India and confirmed my suspicion that the roads are too bad.

 

Harley sales in India? Maybe a dozen.... Basically a story to keep the Harley riders happy till they figure out what is really going on. It will start with Sportsters and Vrods that aren't considered real Harleys by the die hards, then move up the line.

[coy55boy]

Basically a story to keep the Harley riders happy till they figure out what is really going on. It will start with Sportsters and Vrods that aren't considered real Harleys by the die hards, then move up the line.

 

Yup, that's how tech support call centers started moving to India and other offshore locations. "Oh, they're just gonna take the overflow calls and work weekends so you employees won't have to work so hard and you'll always have weekends off." That was 8 years ago. Little by little, step by step, they've out sourced all the technical support and much of the software programming. Customers are frustrated by it, but so few vote with their wallets, the company makes the $wise decision.

[Drreb]

I've been there and other developing countries. There is no market for big cruisers. The roads and drivers SUCKKKKKK. Life expectancy on anything that can't dart and weave like a small motorbike at relatively low speeds is measured in hours and weeks not years. You think cage drivers HERE are inconsiderate, you ain't seen nothing pal!!!! The only required piece of safety equipment between Western Europe and Japan is a horn.

 

Royal enfield 500 is a BIG bike there. I have a co worker in the software business who rides an enfield in India. Last time he was here here I gave him a ride on my venture. He had never seen such a big bike in India and confirmed my suspicion that the roads are too bad.

 

Harley sales in India? Maybe a dozen.... Basically a story to keep the Harley riders happy till they figure out what is really going on. It will start with Sportsters and Vrods that aren't considered real Harleys by the die hards, then move up the line.

BINGO!

[MasterGuns]

This qoute from the article got me, notice the prices.

 

Harley sells bikes with engine capacities up to 1500cc that are priced between 695,000 rupees and 3.5 million rupees (15,660 dollars and 79,000 dollars).

 

I wonder which model is $79,000?

Don

 

 

Must be the 90cc Sportster model.