Harley-Davidson Introducing New 250cc Model For The Asian Market in 2020

The Moco continues to diversify its offerings with the announcement of a new quarter-liter machine slated for a release next year.

Over the last decade following the financial crash, Harley-Davidson has increasingly struggled to regain its footing and return sales to where they once were. As the Milwaukee-based brand’s primary demographic of baby boomers ages out of riding, the Moco hasn’t been able to attract the younger generation of riders needed to sustain the company in the long term. Harley has tried going the modification friendly, factory custom route, and has even introduced slightly smaller, more affordable models, though none of these efforts have been sufficient to right the ship in the long run.

Last year the American marque made waves when it announced its plans to diversify its lineup over the coming half-decade with the introduction of a bevy of models from segments previously untapped by the firm, as well as expand into several new key markets under the company’s “More Roads To Harley-Davidson” initiative. Fast-forward to now and Harley has announced it will be launching a new 250cc model destined for the Asian market in 2020. The company won’t be going it alone however, and says it will partner with an existing manufacturer in Asia to help bring the quarter-liter Harley to market, though there’s been no word on who that might be.

"More Roads progress in Q1 included steps towards a partnership for a premium small displacement offering in Asia, to expand our reach in that region,” stated Harley-Davidson CEO, Matt Levatich. “We are just over a year away from launching our first model that will help provide access to millions of customers in emerging markets in the region."

History Repeating Itself

This isn’t all that different from almost 60-years-ago when Harley bought out half of the Italian manufacturer, Aermacchi, and started selling rebadged small-displacement bikes. This is likely what Harley will do this time around as well considering bringing an entirely new model to market by next year is a wildly tall order. And if Harley had been working on this for the last few years and somehow managed to keep it fully under wraps, it’s hard to think it would have been left out of last Summer’s aforementioned “More Roads To H-D” announcement. So, chances are we won’t be getting an entirely new bike, rather one that’s simply rebadged, or perhaps reskinned, a la the KTM RC/Duke 390 and the Husqvarna Svartpilen/Vitpilen 401.

It’s also hard to say if the Harley name on the tank — which in the past has been vital to selling its product —will have the power and influence needed to attract buyers away from the competition in the way it once did for the boomer generation. This may or may not bolster sales in its native US, but I doubt India has the same warm admiration for Harley the way America does, or the way India does for its own Royal Enfield.

The World’s Biggest Market

It’s hard to overstate the size and importance of the Asian markets. Indonesia sells more than 25-times as many two-wheeler units as the US, and India — which sold more than 20 million units last year alone — accounts for one-sixth of the global market, with over three-quarters of registered vehicles in the country being of the two-wheeled variety. While the vast majority of these sales are sub-250cc machines, India nonetheless sells more two-wheelers in a single week than all of America does in an entire year.

With this in mind, it’s not hard to see why the higher-ups at Harley have ordered a new quarter-liter model made specifically for the Asian market, with India specifically in mind. Part of last year’s announcement made mention of plans to focus on the Asian market, though with the inclusion of several small electric prototypes and the immense popularity of two-wheeled EVs in China, we weren’t expecting a new small-displacement gas-powered model built to cater specifically to the Asian market.

The Future 250cc Harley-Davidson

Nonetheless, Harley-Davidson is making headlines once again with the announcement that a new, affordable 250cc model is heading to the Asian shores in 2020. Details on the exact model are still unknown, so we don’t even know what type of bike this will be yet, aside from engine size, though with the company supposedly shooting for an MSRP in the ballpark of $4,000, we’re assuming it will be a single-cylinder machine — quite possibly a small V-Twin with the rear-cylinder lopped off like on the old Buell Blast.

If You Build It, They Will Come (And Ride It)

It goes without saying that entry-level-sized models are hugely beneficial when drawing in new, younger customers, and despite Harley introducing the Street 500 (and 750) in 2013, the general response to the half-liter V-Twin has been relatively lackluster, failing to attract a piece of that sweet, sweet millennial demographic in the scale the manufacturer had hoped it would.

Cruiser sales, in general, have been in a bit of a slump in recent times, with an almost 13-percent decline in sales by the end of 2018 alone. The only sect within the segment to see any positive growth was the sub-600cc group, which saw sales increase by almost a third, suggesting there is indeed very much a market/demand for a small displacement cruiser. Having said all that, there’s no guarantee that this new model will even be a cruiser, though it’s hard to imagine that at the very least, it wouldn’t have some cruiser influence in its design.

According to the outlets (like Outlook India) reporting on this in India, the 250cc H-D will be priced around the $4,000 mark. In order to pull this off Harley would have to forgo any bells and whistles (other than ABS) and deliver a no-frills, bare-bones model — not unlike the offerings from Royal Enfield, which dominates the larger displacement market in India.

A Harley 250 For The Rest Of Us?

There’s no word as to whether or not the Moco plans on introducing the forthcoming 250 into the European or North American markets, though it’s hard to imagine the company wouldn’t want to maximize on the investment required to develop and bring the new model to market. All the work has already been done; it just needs to go through emissions testing and whatever other red tape is required, and viola, the new bike’s potential customer base just doubled.

Dollars & Sense

With Harley having struggled to increase sales by tapping into the North American millennial demo, it’s actually a pretty logical move to tap into the lucrative Asian market with a model specifically catering to what sells in that region. Even if this new baby Harley only manages to nab a very small fraction of the sales in its segment, that’s still a tremendous number of units sold. Currently, if you want a sub 500cc cruiser in North America, your options are pretty limited. There’s Yamaha’s V-Star 250, Honda’s Rebel 300 (and 500), and the often under-looked Cleveland Cyclewerks Heist, and that’s about it. So there’s objectively room for a baby Harley.

It’s honestly a bit confusing as to why Harley didn’t opt for doing this eight years ago when it opened a factory in India, but better late than never. It’s nice to see Harley willing to make the changes necessary to keep the iconic company afloat, though the alternative option is simply going down with the ship, and nobody wants that Based on the fact Harley is aiming for a 2020 release, there’s a very good chance that we’ll be treated to an unveiling come EICMA or Intermot at the tail end of this year. Time will tell.