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Harley-Davidson (HDI) is set to open its first dealership in Beijing. They really could have used a couple of Harley's on the Long March.

The move into China is part of Harley's push to take its bad-boy image global. In the U.S., the $5.3 billion motorcycle manufacturer rules the heavyweight premium-bike segment with a 48.9% share, well ahead of Japanese rivals such as Honda (HMC) and Suzuki. Overseas is a different story. Although Harley's international deliveries grew 15% in 2005, the U.S. still represents more than 80% of the company's sales.

And its biggest foreign market isn't fast-growth Asia, but Europe, where it sold about 30,000 bikes last year. Canada came next, with 11,700, followed by Japan with 11,400, according to company data. Harley groups China into an "all other countries" category of about 11,200 bikes in 2005.

Posted by edelfenbein at March 30, 2006 12:13 PM