Failure of Harley and success of Hyundai
Hyundai’s India strategy has helped it grow, while Harley is struggling
Strategy
Hyundai’s India strategy has helped it grow, while Harley is struggling
Iconic motorcycle brand Harley Davidson is exiting India. It incurred losses, and missed sales and revenue targets. Hyundai Motor is India’s second biggest car maker. India is world’s 5th largest auto market. Its sales in 2019 was more than 38lakh units.
In 2019 Harley Davidson sold only 106 motorcycles. It also exported 40% less motorcycles. The losses were INR 500cr. Harley sold more than 2lakh motorcycles globally. On the other hand Hyundai has 17% of India’s car market (Maruti has 51%), while the other foreign brands such as Ford, Chevrolet, Volkswagen are struggling. Mahindra owns 7% of the market share, while Tata Motors own 5%.
Small businesses should focus on developing value for money products as per the needs and behavior of Indian customers. Hyundai launches four new models every year by incorporating the feedback. Dumping a cool or successful product in India doesn’t help. Harley failed to realize that India is not a market for big bikes. Their cheapest bike (750cc) sold for INR 4.7 lakh. Royal Enfield’s most expensive 650cc bike sells for INR 2.64lakh.
As per Business Standard: “They hire foreign CEOs who almost always don’t understand the business landscape. They come in with a sense that this market is going to be like China or other emerging markets, which it never is, and they push products that have worked elsewhere assuming they will here.”