Repost from Automotive Newswire March 5, 2013.

Fat Boy motorcycles will be exported as kits to India for local assembly and sale.
Fat Boy motorcycles will be exported as kits to India for local assembly and sale.

“In a region dominated for decades by two-wheeled motorized travel it looked like the sun was about to set as Indian auto manufacturers set their goals toward getting Indians into four-wheeled vehicles with a roof.  The cheap Tata Nano was supposed to put an end to all of that two-wheeled transport and several auto manufacturers followed suit with new small cars developed for the Indian market and aimed at protecting those blue suede shoes from getting muddy.

“Whoops.  Indian’s don’t wear blue suede shoes.  And indeed, they love their motorcycles.  While Tata is revamping the Nano to attempt to make it successful, Harley-Davidson is expanding dramatically in India.

“Harley-Davidson announced this week that it will assemble the “Fat Boy,” “Fat Boy Special” and “Heritage Softail Classic models in India.  The cycles will be imported as kits and assembled locally offering a savings in import taxes.

“Assembly of the models will be done at Bawal, where Harley already assembles 12 other models for the Indian market.

Each Harley Davidson motorcycle represents  added value from the precision machining industry in a number of components. Export sales of Harley Davidsons are export sales of precision machined products.

This is good news.

Fat Boy