Harley-Davidson in China

[bigdamo]

Polaris Industries (NYSE: PII) is a manufacturer of snowmobiles, ATV, and neighborhood electric vehicles. Polaris is based in Medina, Minnesota, USA. The company also manufactures motorcycles through its Victory Motorcycles subsidiary. Polaris no longer produces watercraft.

I was a Polaris dealer back in the 90's, loved their snowmobiles, but the rest of the product line never really got me that excited.

Cheers!
ChinaV

Just wondering was Polaris ever a Canadian company.

[ChinaV]

Just wondering was Polaris ever a Canadian company.

As far as I know, it's always been based in Minnesota.

Wikipedia Entry

Cheers
ChinaV

[MJH]

I really do not like the idea of a corporation like HD and its mindset lobbing in china, or the US congress for that matter. They are narrow minded and limited, they are also run by a closed group of executive whores.

There is not a huge potential for sales of HD in Asia, the governments are on a track that leads to carbon output restrictions. The 1600cc motorcycles only has a limited market, it will only get passed with tax penalties or bribes, either is likely but it not a legitimate way to appreciate value to share holders. Inside traders yes…to them it is way to bolster the value of their stock options, the claims of endless sales is exaggerated, for just that reason.




http://www.aermacchi-world.de/Frameset.htm

[MJH]

[MJH]

[MJH]

I apologize for over simplifying such a challenging proposition….

[Lao Jia Hou]

Just wondering was Polaris ever a Canadian company.

Heh heh ...

Polaris = snowmobiles
Snow = Canada
therefore,
Polaris = Canada

Actually, I had thought the same thing.

Victories are good bikes. Harleys are good bikes. But Victory doesn't have a snowball's chance in H3LL of competing on the "image."

Now, if Victory starts making bikes with an ice hockey stick as a tank shift lever, maple syrup as a lubricant, and somehow incorporates a beaver into the logo ... well, I'd be back to believing Polaris is Canadian.

[Lao Jia Hou]

An interesting Business Week article from a couple of days ago ...

Why Harley Can't Rev Up in China

Total 2010 sales for all of China = 268 bikes (across all the dealerships). I don't know about other dealers, but the Beijing dealer always seems to be hopping. And my guess from watching the HOG forum in China, is that the Shanghai dealer at least matches the Beijing dealer in volume, if not surpasses it (seems a lot of HOG members are from SH). Maybe 100 bikes each from BJ and SH? And the balance from Qingdao, etc?

Interesting reader comments attached to it, as well. It is also generating a lot of comments over in the HD forums.

[bikerdoc]

^while the article is an interesting read, it does not present anything new or report on anything that has not been reported or written previously, Indeed when I read the article I feel as though I have read most of the content elsewhere before. Still the more it gets read and talked about, that helps raise awareness then lets hope collectively that the CCCP (and local governments/authorities) adopt some new measures to allow motorcycles less restrictive access and stop discrimination of motorcycles. Better education campaigns and enforcement of all road users would go a long way to address some of the issues at hand.

[bigdamo]

Heh heh ...

Polaris = snowmobiles
Snow = Canada
therefore,
Polaris = Canada

Actually, I had thought the same thing.

Victories are good bikes. Harleys are good bikes. But Victory doesn't have a snowball's chance in H3LL of competing on the "image."

Now, if Victory starts making bikes with an ice hockey stick as a tank shift lever, maple syrup as a lubricant, and somehow incorporates a beaver into the logo ... well, I'd be back to believing Polaris is Canadian.

When I was living in Canada quite a few years ago I saw Polaris everywhere. I guess that's where I drew the conclusion from.That and some Canadian told me Polaris was a Canadian company.