THE CHINESE MOTOCYCLE MARKET
China is the biggest motorcycle market in the world. There were about 24 million motorcycles sold in China in 2007, an increase of about 15 percent from 2006. The motorcycle manufacturing industry in China consists of hundreds of different companies that collaborate on motorcycle design and manufacturing. The approach has been so successful that Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha, once dominant throughout Asia, have lost 40 per cent of their market share in the past 10 years. The process consists of one manufacturer makeing frames, another speedometers, and yet another engines. The design and marketing strategies of motorcycles are also done collaboratively by forming alliances. One group does sales, another distribution, and another customer support. Each group involves in the making and selling of the final product gets their slice of the pie, interchange is optimized, and there is no single controlling body for the process. This modular component production system draws on a network of local suppliers, enabling the assembly of motorcycles in record time, with a range of variations to meet local tastes.
CHALLENGES FACED BY HARLEY DAVIDSON
The challenges faced by Harley Davidson as it tries to penetrate the Chinese market include high customs duties on foreign motorcycles, riding restrictions in most large cities and on highways and competition from small low cost domestic bike manufacturers.
The Chinese strategy has always been to sell to the United States, but not to buy from the United States. In order to protect local manufacturers, China doesn't want foreign companies coming into its markets if it can't learn something from them. In order to keep foreign compe ...