Harley revs up expansion

[bazmlb]

Power Station Motorsport Co, the authorised dealer of Harley-Davidson in Thailand, will open showrooms and service centres in three regions of the country in a bid to double sales by 2018.

General manager Ken Svensson said the company recently built a 100-million-baht dealership on Rama IX Road in Bangkok and will add three more in Thailands North, South and Eastern Seaboard.

The upcountry sites will cost 30-50 million baht each, with the first one being a 1,000-square-metre facility in Phuket province to open this year.

Mr Svensson declined to disclose the two other provinces but said the locations will depend on local residents average income and the population of the grey market.

The company expects to double annual sales to 900 motorcycles within five years.

-- Automotive Focus Group Thailand 2014-1-17

[RubberSideDown]

Sounds like they have high hopes for the upcoming cheaper, lower-displacement models.

[VocalNeal]

Is it me or does Harley rev-up seem an oxymoron?

[furyrider]

I think they need to work harder on customer and parts. Everyone I know with Harleys do business with the unotherized dealers for sevice and repair work.

[PETERTHEEATER]

The 'South' location is not a well kept secret. A new shop is being constructed on the southbound lane of the Cha-Am to Hua Hin road with a banner sign reading 'Harley-Davidson':)

[RedQualia]

"The company expects to double annual sales to 900 motorcycles within five years."

Wow... Seems pretty ambitious...

[bazmlb]

The 'South' location is not a well kept secret. A new shop is being constructed on the southbound lane of the Cha-Am to Hua Hin road with a banner sign reading 'Harley-Davidson':)

Power station use to have a shop in Pattaya in Thepprasit rd, but it didnt last long.

[frankphuket]

Phoned them today to check for specials....only tomorrow...for their Grand Opening Rama3 showroom they give cash discounts.

Pay cash for example for a Sportster XL1200 CA and get 50,000 discount. List price was mentioned is 819,000! They also said they are negotiating with an existing dealer here in Phuket to be their partner...

[frankphuket]

Phoned them today to check for specials....only tomorrow...for their Grand Opening Rama3 showroom they give cash discounts.

Pay cash for example for a Sportster XL1200 CA and get 50,000 discount. List price was mentioned is 819,000! They also said they are negotiating with an existing dealer here in Phuket to be their partner...

Rama9 it is...not 3!

[BSJ]

100 million baht for a motorcycle dealership premises......WHAT!

[Carrerakiss]

The announcement seems typical airhead speak to me. It's what they'd like to do, not what they are actually doing. The figures quoted for showroom costs are just plucked out of the air in order to sound good.

Mind you, I'm in Udon and I'd love to have an official dealer here selling new bikes. Plenty of places to do servicing already.

[Kerryd]

It's the bluddy import tariffs and taxes that kill the business in Thailand. Because a couple of Japanese companies (Honda, Kawasaki, ?) build bikes in Thailand, they don't want competition from Harley. Trying to import a new HD into Thailand ? Frikken expensive. Buddy of mine just paid $4,000 US to import his 14 year old bike from the US !

I bought and brought some parts to add to my bike, and they decided to charge me 40% tax because they decided I was probably actually going to resell the 1 kickstand, 1 set of mirrors, 1 shift lever and other single items. It seems I should have rolled them in the dirt, scratched them up and sprayed dirty oil all over them before packing them in my suitcase. Then they may have believed me and charged my the lower (7%) rate.

A few years back I laughed at the guy here in Kandahar that sells Harleys at the American Px on camp. Their sign says they will ship your bike anywhere. I laughed and said, not where I live ! The guy said "oh yeah, no problem. Where do you live ?"

When I told him Thailand he nodded "Yeah, we won't ship there" (Only the "contiguous" 48 states count as "anywhere" apparently.) (He actually lives in Bangkok I think.)

When you look at the prices of a new Harley in the US and what they have to charge for one in Thailand, you realize that, for certain items, highway robbery is in fact legal !

(I think I paid about $25k US for a 5 year old bike a few years ago, that sells brand new in the US for 17-18k.)

I am still amazed at how many Harleys there are in Thailand. Go to the Burapa Bike week in Pattaya (14-15 Feb) and expect to see anywhere from what, 6-10,000 Harleys (depending on weather).

So much of the market though is re-sales. There's probably a dozen shops in Pattaya alone that sell (used) Harleys. But like everywhere, so much of the traffic is "lookers" not "buyers" and people that just try to sit on a bike to get their pic taken then scoot off before someone yells at them.

To sell 900 new bikes a year (in total for all their planned branches) will take a major upswing in the local economy. We've noticed that when the economy went down, people stopped buying and started trying to sell their bikes, and weren't riding them anywhere near as often as they used to. May take a few good years before things pick up enough again for people to start spending the big bucks on sexy toys again.

[BB1955]

I sold mine before I came be darned if I was going to pay for it twice ...

[Mudcrab]

It's the bluddy import tariffs and taxes that kill the business in Thailand. Because a couple of Japanese companies (Honda, Kawasaki, ?) build bikes in Thailand, they don't want competition from Harley. Trying to import a new HD into Thailand ? Frikken expensive. Buddy of mine just paid $4,000 US to import his 14 year old bike from the US !

I bought and brought some parts to add to my bike, and they decided to charge me 40% tax because they decided I was probably actually going to resell the 1 kickstand, 1 set of mirrors, 1 shift lever and other single items. It seems I should have rolled them in the dirt, scratched them up and sprayed dirty oil all over them before packing them in my suitcase. Then they may have believed me and charged my the lower (7%) rate.

A few years back I laughed at the guy here in Kandahar that sells Harleys at the American Px on camp. Their sign says they will ship your bike anywhere. I laughed and said, not where I live ! The guy said "oh yeah, no problem. Where do you live ?"

When I told him Thailand he nodded "Yeah, we won't ship there" (Only the "contiguous" 48 states count as "anywhere" apparently.) (He actually lives in Bangkok I think.)

When you look at the prices of a new Harley in the US and what they have to charge for one in Thailand, you realize that, for certain items, highway robbery is in fact legal !

(I think I paid about $25k US for a 5 year old bike a few years ago, that sells brand new in the US for 17-18k.)

I am still amazed at how many Harleys there are in Thailand. Go to the Burapa Bike week in Pattaya (14-15 Feb) and expect to see anywhere from what, 6-10,000 Harleys (depending on weather).

So much of the market though is re-sales. There's probably a dozen shops in Pattaya alone that sell (used) Harleys. But like everywhere, so much of the traffic is "lookers" not "buyers" and people that just try to sit on a bike to get their pic taken then scoot off before someone yells at them.

To sell 900 new bikes a year (in total for all their planned branches) will take a major upswing in the local economy. We've noticed that when the economy went down, people stopped buying and started trying to sell their bikes, and weren't riding them anywhere near as often as they used to. May take a few good years before things pick up enough again for people to start spending the big bucks on sexy toys again.

Interested to know how your friend imported his second hand Harley. I enquired about this and was told no secondhand vehicles of any sort can be imported according to police directive blah blah blah. I was advised to sell my 40 year old harley and buy another in Thailand.

[guzzi850m2]

Interested to know how your friend imported his second hand Harley. I enquired about this and was told no secondhand vehicles of any sort can be imported according to police directive blah blah blah. I was advised to sell my 40 year old harley and buy another in Thailand.

Some shops in Bkk, Pattaya and other places specialize in grey imports. They have the necessary connections to get a Harley some 10- 20% cheaper than official imports can do. This practice is sometimes stopped when customs are under pressure from higher authority but when things quiet down again they normal starts again.

The 2002 Road King I owned a couple of years ago came from Japan, it was stripped down and imported as parts, boxed back up in Thailand.

I eventually got the all important green book and with page 18 stamped (tax).

I know they have clamped down on grey import top end luxury cars and confiscated some of them but never heard about bikes being confiscated.

You can't do this yourself, but Thais with the right connections can.

The shops selling those bikes can get any model you want, you just tell them what you want and they will search for it all over the world but it might take time.

I am not 100% sure above is correct as this I have only heard from "shop talks" and haven't done it myself.

[liddelljohn]

I used to import bikes to here until 2008 mostly HD but some Ducatis etc got over 90 in and legal bangkok green books on on 81 bikes we had 3 confiscated and had to use less legal methods on the others ,, or break them for parts

sales of HDs collapsed in last 3 years in thailand partially due to economy but also fashion has changed to other brands .i am no longer involved in the grey import game but my old contacts keep me informed .

The new 500 and 750 may drive new sales if prices are sensible.

[tetleythedog]

Sounds like they have high hopes for the upcoming cheaper, lower-displacement models.

Why don't people buy real bikes like R1'S, ZX range 6 to 14, ? They made a "fat boy" didn't they? Named undoubtedly after most of their riders !!!

[mirinda]

I think they need to work harder on customer and parts. Everyone I know with Harleys do business with the unotherized dealers for sevice and repair work.

There is a good reason most Harley riders take their bikes to an independent shops for repair work . . . Unlike just about every other real Harley dealerships in the world, the one in Thailand will not work on a Harley unless they sold it, based on personal experience with them.

[RubberSideDown]

Sounds like they have high hopes for the upcoming cheaper, lower-displacement models.

Why don't people buy real bikes like R1'S, ZX range 6 to 14, ? They made a "fat boy" didn't they? Named undoubtedly after most of their riders !!!

People like what they like- I don't understand the choices some people make, but many don't understand the motorcycle choices I've made, especially in LOS. The fact is that an HD can be used more to it's full potential than my ZX-14R in Thailand, but that means nothing to me- I bought what made me happy.

The only time I get involved in the HD vs sportbike debate is when obvious misinformation regarding performance is posted (my pet pedantic peeve:))- otherwise I look at it as everybody on two wheels vs everybody on four wheels- we're all on the same team in the end.

[DILLIGAD]

Aren"t Victory and Indian planning a Thai "invasion" too ?????

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[mirinda]

Sounds like they have high hopes for the upcoming cheaper, lower-displacement models.

Why don't people buy real bikes like R1'S, ZX range 6 to 14, ? They made a "fat boy" didn't they? Named undoubtedly after most of their riders !!!

Harleys are real bikes, just as the sport bikes are. Isn't it nice that we have a choice?

[Carrerakiss]

Sounds like they have high hopes for the upcoming cheaper, lower-displacement models.

Why don't people buy real bikes like R1'S, ZX range 6 to 14, ? They made a "fat boy" didn't they? Named undoubtedly after most of their riders !!!

I get that you prefer a different brand/type of bike than a Harley. Everyone has their own personal likes.

I don't quite get the comment about Harley riders weight though. Sounds kind of rude?

[oTwoPies]

Aren"t Victory and Indian planning a Thai "invasion" too ?????

and just where did you hear this little gem?

[DILLIGAD]

from an HD enthusiast who is in the bike business in USA...

QUOTE

'Victory is now in Thailand, don't know where the store is but they are there. The Thai Army has ordered 2 police special models but they want bullet proof tires (made in china). A dealer in Tucson is working the orders, he has fitted several police units here in the States, Europe, Malaysia, and now Thailand...

Indian will be next since Victory and Indian owned by same company...'

Edited January 18, 2014 by DILLIGAD

[funcat]

The New Indians are awesome looking bikes...

[guzzi850m2]

Aren"t Victory and Indian planning a Thai "invasion" too ?????

and just where did you hear this little gem?

Here perhaps?

http://www.victorymotorcyclesthailand.com/

[BirdsandBooze]

Aren"t Victory and Indian planning a Thai "invasion" too ?????

and just where did you hear this little gem?

Here perhaps?

http://www.victorymotorcyclesthailand.com/

Yes they are. They sold some at the Bangkok Motorbike Festival at Central World. The dealer gave me this 'little gem'.

[smotherb]

I think they need to work harder on customer and parts. Everyone I know with Harleys do business with the unotherized dealers for sevice and repair work.

The fact that only one authorized dealer exists and they are reluctant to do much for anyone who did not buy their bike from them has a lot to do with it.

[Carrerakiss]

I think they need to work harder on customer and parts. Everyone I know with Harleys do business with the unotherized dealers for sevice and repair work.

The fact that only one authorized dealer exists and they are reluctant to do much for anyone who did not buy their bike from them has a lot to do with it.

Yes, it is the same with cars. If you did not buy from the authorised dealer, they won't service it for you. They use the practice as a device to discourage people buying from the grey market.

Mind you, in a place like Thailand! the authorised dealers don't necessarily have the best mechanics anyway. And spare parts inventory can be limited. Often times they are ordered from outside the country and take two weeks to arrive.

[smotherb]

I sold mine before I came be darned if I was going to pay for it twice ...

Well, the good market for a Harley is gone in the states--it used to be if you have a good condition 20 year old hog, you could expect to get several times what you paid for it because they were so rare. Now, Harley sells 400k units a year and almost everyone who thinks he has made it has one in his garage. In Thailand, you can still buy a Harley, ride it for years, and sell it for most of what you paid, if you keep it in good condition--try that with a rice burner.