Another Invasion?
Harley-Davidson motorcycles and even some Indian motorcycles were a main-stay in the 40’s and 50’s. Then, we started to see imports at lower prices that offered those without the money to buy American bikes to get started. Before long Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, and Kawasaki had made names for themselves and were thriving in the import market. It wasn’t just the Japanese motorcycles that were entering America. BMW, Moto Guzzi, Bernelli, Ducati and many others entered. But the low-cost bikes made the impact. Soon, Honda even invaded the automobile market and became the number one auto sold in America.
We live in a global market and today Harley-Davidson is opening stores all over the world. They recently even opened one in China where their motorcycles cost more than 10 years of an average income. Of course, China is said to be producing 100 new millionaires every month with the growing economy. If they are buying Harley’s, what are they selling? Is the next invasion from China?
Most markets are broken by someone coming in low, appealing to the cost-effective market with an entry level machine. If you take a class today to learn how to ride motorcycle you are usually on someone’s 250cc machine. Welcome to CF Moto. This Chinese company is hitting on a few cylinders and could be China’s entry into our motorcycle market. I was dumbfounded when I saw my first at Bike Week in Daytona this month.
The world is changing. Motorcycles are changing. New companies are entering the markets where old companies struggle to keep their grip on profits. Customer loyalty to a company brand means unquestioned profits without regard for quality. But today’s market demands growth. While the 2007 Harley-Davidson motorcycle models have great new features with larger engines in many of them, all the companies must always keep a watchful eye on their competitors. Soon, we could be seeing new, larger models from China that displace the well established Japanese manufacturers.  But think about it, who would be next after them? And inevitably you will have to question if competition is only good when you’re winning.