As mentioned here recently, Harley Davidson is opening another dealership in China even though sales are not exactly booming, in fact, they're hardly selling any at all. Some U.S. senators, from Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New York and Missouri, the states where HD has a presence, are asking the U.S. to put pressure on China to relax restrictions so more Chinese bikers will be riding the big Hogs.
"The Chinese market should be a hog heaven for U.S. motorcycle companies, but China's unfair trade practices are slamming the brakes on Harley sales," Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, said in a statement ahead of high-level U.S.-China talks next week in Beijing.
"Fair trade must be a two-way street," said Sen. Robert Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat. "China's roadblock to Harley- Davidson is unacceptable. There will always be a demand for a classic like Harley-Davidson motorcycles, but artificial barriers are threatening U.S. jobs."
Unfortunately, riding outside the cities in China is something best suited to a dual sport bike, not a Softail, but it's in the cities where China has placed restrictions on riding the big bikes so Harleys have nowhere to go.
Companies keep trying to sell in China, China keeps putting up restrictions and it's not likely to change any time soon no matter what these senators say. I understand why Harley wants to expand their market to increase sales but I have a hunch China isn't the answer.
Link: Reuters
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{ 10 comments… add yours below ... }
We do need more balanced trade agreements with China but not for Harley. I can’t believe Chinese people would care about them at all. They don’t meet their needs for the most part, the restrictions Mr. Crowe mentioned (I believe on city has banned motorcycles altogether), and they surely are out of the price range of most Chinese.
Harley needs to focus on Europe, Japan, and just generally updating their products with more modern technology.
Unreal.
The Chinese people do not elect the people that govern them. One can only hope HD is less of a concern for these senators. I would have much less of a problem with China & the rest of the world doing business with China, if the Chinese people elected their own leaders.
HD is in some ways repeating the stupid mistakes of GM & Ford who banked solely on SUV crap, while Toyota & Honda anticipated fuel economy as the next wave of buying incentive. Where is HD’s model diversity and R&D into bikes that will entice the next wave of buyers? TWENTY models are based on the same big twin engine.
Do they have a sense of market anticipation or is their product planning stuck only in the arrogance of this comment? :
“There will always be a demand for a classic like Harley-Davidson motorcycles,…”
HD’s existing product line has 2 significant factors working against them:
1. HD’s bread-and-butter demographic is on its way out of riding while being replaced with a market not nearly as interested in their product. The baby boom generation returned to HD when they became empty-nesters. Conversely, there is a higher % of riders being introduced to many other brands today than there were brands in the 50’s & 60’s. HD doesn’t necessarily have that same spike coming with the next wave of empty nesters. What will the i-c engine look like in 15-18 years, anyway?
2.HD: the first 100 years vs. the next 100 years?
Some HD’s are classic, but they are not going to sell enough when gas is above $4.50-5/gallon. Your Sunday run either got really short or too expensive to justify buying a new bike.
If geo-political & economic factors change the petro-paradigm to the point where the i-c engine is drastically different, an HD will no longer possess the same level of “classic status”. The buzz of a hybrid, electric, hydrogen, etc. wrapped in the style of a Road King doesn’t hold the same mystique does it? All motorcycle brands will be faced with that paradigm shift, but HD’s product image is the most vulnerable to the inevitable change in the next 30-50 years.
I could see China being a huge market for Harley. As there are more people there acquiring wealth, buying a Harley would be one heck of a status symbol in China. It’s a distinctly foreign brand, and owning anything from a foreign brand is a mark of status in China. The more frivolous the item, the more status you have.
Free trade? How many bikes aren’t available in the US (especially California) because of unreasonable restrictions and regulations. Sure safety and pollution are real concerns but bikes are already built to conform to higher Euro (global) standards. Even then they have to be submitted for testing once again for the American market – and then again for the Californian market.
Why am I not allowed to buy a motorcycle that pollutes a fraction of the amount a Hummer does?
-todd
Why do senators speak in puns? It gives me a headache.
Why would the geniuses at HD NOT do the obvious and make a bike FOR the market instead of just marketing their bike?
A friend tried to get me to invest in a Harley dealership in China a few years ago…I’m glad I didn’t! The most popular bikes in China now, by far, are electric mopeds/scooters. They’re everywhere in the big cities, ridden by housewives, students, all sorts of people. Not very exciting, but they’re cheap and the air in congested areas of big cities, like Shanghai and Guangzhou, have become noticeably better.
If I commented on this story, someone would no doubt accuse me of being one of the “same predictable people [who] regurgitate the same stale cliche’s every time anything H-D comes up.” So, no comment.
I’m sure you can all draw your own conclusions about the fact that HD has to resort to using paid political pressure to move their product.
The irony of HD doing business in China as a means to help declining sales is staggering. [throw in the US Senators to compound the situation].
The moto brand that touts the idea of “freedom” more than any other motorcycle is doing business in a communist-run country.
“Potato-potato” down a Beijing street….”yeah, I’m a free badass”
Hey Guys,
I have been living in China for three years and it is really quite simple why it is impractical to have a HD here. The traffic speed is always between 25-35km, traffic laws are not followed and motorcycles are not allowed on the freeways. This means if you live in a city you can’t leave the city on your bike. And 1st and 2nd gear is all your bike will use. I custom built an electric motorcycle to feed my speed cravings.
The Kneeslider does not endorse nor imply agreement with any particular comment just because we let it stand, but, you already knew that.
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