It is no secret that Harley Davidson was on a lookout for an Asian manufacturer to expand its business. There were speculations of the partner being an Indian company. However, the Milwaukee-based company has revealed that it has partnered with the chinese firm, Zhejiang Qianjiang Motorcycle.
Since last year, Harley Davidson has been working on strategies to expand their business. Breaking tradition, the American cruiser giant announced their plans to cater to wider audience and markets. The company even showcased prototypes of an ADV- the Pan America, the Streetfighter and Custom 1250. All the bikes will reportedly get new V-twin mills.
Harley also announced their intention to build sub-500cc motorcycles and their partnership with Qianjiang is aimed at developing smaller capacity bikes. The first motorcycle to roll-off is said to be a 338cc bike which may hit the streets as early as 2020. The new motorcycle and its engine will be manufactured at Qianjiang's factory based in the city of Wenling, east China's Zhejiang Province.
Zhejiang Qianjiang Motorcycle was founded in 1985 and is a subsidiary of the Geely technology Group. In 2015, the company also acquired the Italian brand, Benelli. Zhejiang Qianjiang Motorcycle manufactures small capacity motorcycles.
India too is likely to get the sub-500cc bikes from Harley Davidson-Qianjiang partnership and we sure can’t forget about the Triumph-Bajaj alliance that will bring more sub 500cc motorcycles to our market.