Time to start saving for that Harley
Re: Iconic American Harley Davidson motorcycles to be made in Thailand.
There’s another icon that has gone to the dogs and cheap labour: Gone is the pride, heritage and good ol’ American made hogs...
What happened to Trump’s promises to keep US manufacturing in the US? gone to dogs as well I guess...
ezzra
Sales declining in the US. Therefore the company should take a good look at their product range. Maybe Americans are wising up to the fact that there are much better bikes out there.
bheard
“Made in Thailand” models will sell for thousands less than the American-made bikes. This move is being made to market a cheaper line to the poorer buyer, as Fender guitars did with the made in Japan, Korea and Mexico models. These bikes will always be known as “Thailand Harleys”. It will only increase the value of the true American models.
mok199
Given the horrible import tax on Harleys in Thailand currently, making them locally should have a very substantial impact on reducing the price.
darksidedog
Woooohoooo !!!!
Say good bye (eventually) to the HUGE mark-ups on Harleys!
Remember – it is an “assembly” plant, not a “manufacturing” plant. The parts will no doubt still be taxed and the bikes will probably be subject to VAT as well, so they still won’t be as cheap as in the US. However the parts will still be manufactured in the States.
One reason Harleys are so frikken expensive in Thailand is the tax/tariff charged to import them. A brand-new bike in Thailand can cost twice as much (or more) as the exact same one in the USA. I was told that Thailand slapped the high tariffs on to protect the domestic bike market. A new (2017) Heritage Softail in the US retails for around Bt615,000 ($16,500 US) while in Thailand you are looking at over Bt1,200,000 for the same bike.
If Harley starts assembling bikes in Thailand that may eliminate (some of) those taxes/tariffs and let people buy at a decent price. As we know, SE Asia has a large market for big bikes and it will probably get bigger in the near future. (Pretty sure Harley wouldn’t even considered opening a plant in Thailand unless they’d conducted feasibility studies first.)
Kerryd
ThaiVisa
