Harley-Davidson is the latest manufacturer to slash prices on its Completely Built Unit (CBU) models in the country, after the government reduced the customs duty on fully imported motorcycles recently. The new prices are effective immediately, the bike maker announced on the sidelines of the 2018 Softail Deluxe and the Softail Low Rider launch earlier today. Harley-Davidson retails 16 motorcycles in India, out of which four models are CBUs. All four bikes are imported from the US to India. Interestingly, the American bike maker has not hiked prices on its CKD range comprising 10 motorcycles despite the government increasing the customs duty on the same.
Customs duty was recently slashed to 50 per cent on imported motorcycles, down from 75 per cent on 800 cc or above bikes, and 60 per cent on bikes less than 800 cc. The customs duty on import of engine, gearbox and transmission mechanism which are not pre-assembled, on CKD bikes, has been increased to 15 per cent from 10 per cent earlier. Harley is the second company to pass on the benefit to customers. BMW Motorrad was the first manufacturer and announced a reduction in prices by 10 per cent.
Harley-Davidson’s CBU range includes its top-of-the-line cruisers including the Road King, Street Glide Special, Road Glide Special and the CVO Limited. Prices on Harley’s CBU range have seen reasonable drop with the Road King receiving a price cut of ₹ 3.36 lakh, while the Road Glide Special is cheaper by ₹ 2.6 lakh. The Harley-Davidson Street Glide Special and CVO Limited have seen a price cut of ₹ 3.50 lakh respectively.
While US President Donald Trump may not be too happy with the import tax structure on American motorcycles in India, the bike maker does understand the growing potential the market has to offer. Apart from retailing its premium cruisers in the country, the company also locally assembles majority of its bikes in India at its manufacturing facility in Bawal, Haryana. Harley’s entry-level cruisers – the Street 750 and the Street Rod are manufactured in India and exported to a number of markets overseas including the US.
