According to recent reports, Hero MotoCorp, one of the largest two-wheeler manufacturers in the Indian market, is ready to enter into a partnership alliance with Harley-Davidson, the American two-wheeler giant. Judging a recent statement issued by Pawan Munjal, the chairman of Hero MotoCorp, the brand is currently in talks with Harley-Davidson for a joint venture. Sooner the American brand agrees on the partnership, the better it would be for both the brands.
Though Hero MotoCorp has not yet officially confirmed any news on the same, they are open with partnerships with premium players to extend their reach across the country and foray into the premium motorcycle segment. Since Harley-Davidson has been looking for a local motorcycle manufacturer to enter the 250-500cc motorcycle segment by the year 2022, Hero MotoCorp would be wisest choices considering their dominion in the Indian two-wheeler market.
Commenting on the possible partnerships, Pawan Munjal said – “This is the era of partnerships and as and when the right kind of partnership comes our way, or we are able to get around to one, we would be willing to do that. There are people who are looking at this market for certain segments, (and) we are wanting to get into higher segments. If there is a match, then why not?”
In 2019, the American motorcycle manufacturer entered into a joint partnership with the Qianjiang Motorcycle that will churn out small-displacement Harleys for the Indian as well as other Asian markets.
The majority of the premium brands are getting into partnerships with other motorcycle manufacturers and creating several successful products. For instance, the TVS-BMW partnership has resulted in the launch of TVS Apache RR 310 while BMW currently features the G310R and G310GS under its wing.
Recently, Bajaj and Triumph also announced an official partnership to launch all-new entry-level products by 2022. Following the same trend, Harley-Davidson is looking for an automobile manufacturer with a huge distribution network of motorcycles to get a stronger hold in the Indian two-wheeler market.
