Hero MotoCorp and Harley-Davidson have announced that they have entered into an agreement for the Indian market. Under the agreement, Hero will sell and service Harley-Davidson motorcycles in India along with retailing H-D’s line-up of accessories and apparels. The retailing will be via brand-exclusive, Harley-Davidson dealerships as well as Hero’s existing dealers in India. Hero will also develop and sell a range of premium motorcycles under the Harley-Davidson brand. While there is no mention of it, it’s fair to expect that Hero will have its own product lines born from these future platforms as well, just as TVS and Bajaj already do.
It’s unlikely that we’ll see any co-developed small-capacity Harley-Davidsons for at least a couple of years, but the good news is that the brand gets to live on in India, and that its tens of thousands of existing customers won’t be left in the lurch.
