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number of dealers have hired leading Indian law firm AZB &
Partners to review their paperwork with Harley-Davidson and
suggest if there is a legal remedy, Rishi Aggarwal, a dealer for
the motorcycle company, told reporters.
"Harley has to compensate us for our losses. That is the only
bone of contention. AZB is studying the case," he said during a
press conference organised by The Federation of Automobile
Dealers Association (FADA) in India.
Harley-Davidson did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
The U.S. company in September said it would discontinue its
sales and manufacturing operations in India after a decade of
struggling to gain a foothold. A month later it entered a
distribution deal with India's Hero MotoCorp <HROM.NS> which
will also develop motorcycles to be sold under the
Harley-Davidson brand.
India is one of the world's largest motorbike and scooter
markets but the bulk of sales come from low-end, commuter
models.
Harley-Davidson's annual sales in the country halved to 2,470
motorcycles in the fiscal year to March 31 from 4,641 units five
years earlier, industry data shows.
General Motors (GM) <GM.N>, MAN Trucks and UM Motorcycles have
also exited India in the last three years, creating uncertainty
for dealers that typically invest millions of dollars to set up
showrooms.
FADA said it typically costs between 50 million and 80 million
rupees ($673,682-$1 million) to set up a Harley-Davidson
dealership. Compensation being offered by the company is around
10% of the investment, it estimates.
"They have come back to us with some numbers but it is not even
10% of what we are looking for. It is peanuts," said Arjun Bafna,
who has been a Harley-Davidson dealer for 10 years.
(Reporting by Aditi Shah; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
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