Price to assembly plant: How Harley-Davidson lost its rumble in India

India's inability to keep a premium manufacturer with an outsize brand points to misaligned incentives, writes Anjani Trivedi.

Harley-Davidson Inc. is riding out of India. That’s as much of a problem for the American motorcycle icon as for one of the largest two-wheeler markets looking to make its mark globally.

Harley said in a regulatory filing Thursday that it was discontinuing sales and manufacturing operations in the world’s second most populous country as part of its company-wide restructuring, or the “Rewire” plan, a five-year strategy to reset its business, focus on high-priority markets and tighten up by streamlining models. 

That the Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based company is pulling out of a thriving market for motorbikes speaks to a troubled international