US cult bike manufacturer Harley Davidson today said it will not increase prices of the two motorcycles it will assemble in the country despite the government hiking customs duty on completely knocked down (CKD) kits.
Anoop Prakash, Managing Director, Harley Davidson India said, “We are firm in honouring our commitment to our dealers, customers and enthusiasts across India, and are delighted to announce that we will maintain our current prices on our CKD models, the Iron 883 and SuperLow, for this calendar year.”
Harley Davidson clarified it will bear the added cost which is expected to be at least Rs 100,000. More than 100 customers are believed to have booked the two bikes and any rise in the final price of the bikes may result cancellations. The company had in December last year announced that it would assemble Superlow and Iron 883 at the facility in Bawal for the Indian market. While Superlow is priced Rs 5.5 lakhs, Iron 883 is tagged Rs 6.5 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
Prakash added Harley Davidson is evaluating options to adapt business in alignment with the new guidelines which have been framed by the government for selling vehicles through the CKD route in the country. “Regardless, we remain committed to the Indian market for the long-term and will now evaluate whether we invest in adapting our operations to the new CKD standards or manage our business to the higher duty rate,” he said.
