Harley-Davidson moves to Thailand blaming EU tariffs, Trump vows retaliation
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/apr/23/trump-harley-davidson-eu-tariffs-trade
Harley-Davidson blamed European taxes on imports of its gas-guzzling hogs for a 27% drop in profits in the first quarter, prompting Donald Trump to vow retaliation against the EU.
Trump’s support comes after he called for a boycott of the motorcycle company following its decision to move some production to Thailand – a move the company said was necessary to cut costs after the EU slapped tariffs on Harley in retaliation for Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
Trump’s support came as Harley said global sales had fallen 3.8% in the first quarter. Harley reported first-quarter net income of $127.9m on consolidated revenue of $1.38bn, compared to $174.8m on consolidated revenue of $1.54bn in 2018, a decline of 26.8%.
Trump's gonna punish the EU more because one of their counter-punishments was so effective it forced an American company Trump had called a boycott on to move production overseas. Notice how there's no discussion on what Trump will or could do to try and bring Harley-Davidson back, only what he'll do to retaliate against the EU?
Now that's the Art of the Deal, burning bridges even harder after they impede the flow of trade so badly that a US company moves to Thailand. This can't possibly backfire and won't damage more US companies.
Harley will not be missed. Overpriced, crap performance, and mostly bought by old people. They wonder why younger people won't buy their motorcycles.
so their almost exclusively casual riding focused motorcycles don't sell in markets where they're actually used for transport? weird.
My dad owns a harley and he literally spends half of his time fixing and repairing the damn thing.
He rides it a couple times a month during the summer if he's lucky. He loves the thing, but I can see why nobody likes Harleys with a track record from what I've seen. They're just unweildy behemoths.
Aren't they built to be as loud and obnoxious as possible? They're probably vibrating themselves apart considering how loud they usually get.
That's actually a reasonable assumption tbh.
Oh no, now we will only have literaly everything else that is better...
In all my life I think I saw a Harley like twice on the streets here.
They're noisy, gas-guzzling pieces of engineering shit, they really have no place in Europe.
This probably isn't terribly relevant to the thread, but I really hate Harleys. They're so loud and big but move so slowly. They just annoy the fuck out of me when I see them on the road. Bikes are cool but I don't get Harleys at all.
South Park ruined Harleys for me.
It's not like I had any affinity for them before, but I swear to fucking god
every harley rider around me is a sadly accurate caricature from that South Park episode.
I don't see too many Harley Davidson bikes around my parts of the UK. I have never really been all that into cruisers anyway but I don't have any intention of ever owning a Harley. Some of them look alright but they just aren't for me. The only bike brands I have ridden are Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki (my current bike is a Kawasaki) and you just cannot go wrong with a Japanese bike.
I would love a European bike though for weekend rides be it an MV Augusta (brutale 800 dragster rr), Ducati (would love a panigale V4), Aprillia (They have a concept bike RS660 in the works would love one), Triumph (Always had a soft spot for the Street Triple) or BMW (New model or older model S1000RR) but European bikes like Harley's just tend to have a habit of not always being as reliable and I ride every day as I commute on my Kawasaki to work.
Even if I changed my mind in later years to ride a cruiser I doubt I would go with a Harley. All the other big name brands make great cruisers that are more reliable and cheaper.
I'm a Harley fan but it's really, really hard to be. Their new electric motorcycle is 30000 fucking dollars. That's almost double what the bike it competes against costs.
na, harley is just decades behind in engine technology from what I've heard. Its like driving a car from the 80s straight off the show room floor
Yeah that is the general consensus. They're all outsourcing and the quality control is fucking dog shit. Most people are moving towards imported brands that actually have good quality control. No one gives two shits about brand names really, it's all about what is decently built and fair price.
I remember Regular Car Reviews did a bit comparing bike brands to the US election of 1840 that feels relevant here.
tl;dw Harrison accused Van Buren of being upper crust while touted himself as a log cabin born everyman, when in reality the opposite was closer to the truth on both sides. In this case, Harrison represented Harley and Van Buren represented BMW and similar brands. Harley was seen as the average Joe's motorcycle and BMW as a luxury brand, when in reality Harley's are way more expensive compared to said brands.
I just like their bikes, I just wish there wasn't so much drama and bullshit with them. Harley thinks they're still on top, and I really, honestly don't think they realize they're falling, quick. Theyre making all these new bikes aimed at young people, or people who want something other than a typical cruiser, but they charge double a competitors price, and they still wonder why their shit doesn't sell.
Don't get me wrong, they clearly put a lot of thought and time into their bikes, but so does everyone else. They literally need to mark 30% off their prices to even start being competitive in today's market.
For example, let's say you want to buy a bike and don't don't have brand preferences, but want a classic styled cruiser. Youre looking at Harley's, and Honda's. You can get everything the Harley has, on the Honda, for almost half the price lmao. Guess what you're probably gonna buy.
And this isn't even memeing, this is true:
2019 Fury Overview
2019 Breakout Motorcycle | Harley
10k vs 20k for something in the same class.
Indian also seems to be making gains on Harley with their Scout-series of bikes. They seem to offer better performance than their similarly priced Harley counterparts and don't have the stigma of being associated with the whole middle-aged biker gang subculture. I also like how the styling embraces the water cooled engine by integrating the radiator with the frame.
https://www.totalmotorcycle.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/2018-Indian-Scout1.jpg
There's also a performance-oriented "standard" version of it called the FTR 1200 coming soon for people who aren't into cruisers.
https://api.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ftr-1200-s-exhaust.jpg?quality=85
They're fucken crap, the only thing they have going for them is their badge and brand recognition.
Indian, Honda or Yamaha cruisers are a way better use of money.
The thing about indian is its owned by Polaris, makers of all things....all things. they have so much R&D across so many product lines they can bring so much manufacturing to bear onto any problem.
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