Trump complains, but Harley Davidson-India sales growing despite tax

President says import duties are hurting but company’s sales grown by 30%

President Donald Trump in his speech said that stiff 100 percent import duties on American company Harley-Davidson’s expensive motorcycles were hurting the manufacturer.

But in India, one of the countries where the luxury bikes are taxed at that rate, sales have grown by a brisk 30 percent in the past two years.

The Harley-Davidson India said Wednesday that their dealerships have expanded to 27 in 17 cities across the country.

The American motorcycle company isn’t the only one attracting high import duties. All luxury motorcycles and cars are taxed between 100-125 percent in India. Duties for used luxury cars are even higher to protect local car and bike manufacturers.

Harley-Davidson bikes cost between 550,000 rupees ($8,100) and 5.4 million rupees ($78,000). The average price of the local motorcycle is 60,000 rupees ($890).