Dutch portfolio equity investor ABN AMRO Participations has bought a majority stake in the Dutch/German exhaust specialist The Jekill and Hyde Company. Founded in 1997 by Jacques van de Kerhof, J&H develop exhaust systems with an electronically adjustable valve.
In a recent appearance on Fox Business Network, Harley CEO Matt Levatich regretted the U.S. administration’s decision to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal with ASEAN and other Asian countries, including Japan, saying “TPP was in negotiation for almost a decade before it was unfortunately turned down. That would have helped us a lot.”
A potentially misinstalled engine oil cooler line has caused Harley to have to issue a recall on some 45,500 2017 Tourers.
Harley-Davidson and Jeep have renewed and deepened a European partnership that sees the 4x4 brand being a key partner and official sponsor of major Harley events and rallies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
India has overtaken China as the world’s largest motorcycle market. Last year over 17.7m motorcycles were sold in India – around 1m more than in China, where the 16.8m motorcycles sold was actually a decline of -11 percent. Motorcycle sales in China are said to have peaked at around 19m units in 2009 – since then increasing numbers of Chinese cities have actually been banning motorcycle use, especially in city centers, in a (mistaken?) attempt to curb air pollution.
The Big Tourer ‘space’ just got even more crowded with Yamaha’s air cooled 1850 cc Star Venture set to go up against Harley, Indian and BMW offerings and the venerable Honda Gold Wing.