They say ,”four wheelers move the body and two wheelers move the soul.”
The beauty of riding a motorcycle can never be expressed in words. Recently we got privileged to have words with Mr. Anoop Prakash, MD of Harley Davidson Canada. The passion and love for the brand was clear in his tone.
“I feel very lucky to grow up around motorcycles in Minnesota. I have always loved motorcycles and wanted to be a part of motorcycling. Getting an opportunity with a brand like Harley Davidson felt like a dream job”, told Anoop Prakash, Managing Director Harley Davidson.
The now Canadian MD of Harley Davidson has a background serving U.S. military. After graduating from Stanford University, he joined the brand as Managing Director in India. After serving in India for around seven years, he has entered Canadian market with new range of motorcycles targeting young crowd between 25-35 years age group. The brand has introduced seven new motorcycles in-between the price range of $8000-$13000 in Canadian market.
Motorcycling is a very popular activity in Canada and Harley Davidson has been into the Canadian market for past 98 years.
Talking about the new range of motorcycles, Anoop emphasised on the style and youth feel of the machine.
“What we see at this point is that motorcycling is getting highly popular among the younger/ new riders coming into the sport. Our whole focus is to get young, sporty people to experience the legacy of Harley Davidson”, said Anoop in a telephonic interview with the Asian Star.
Harley Davidson was spotted at the motorcycle show held last week in Abbotsford.
“Our products are very stylish and all the new range has attractive price points. Iron 883, 38 and the street are three bikes that have been redone in 2016. Their style, model and vibe is all about youngsters”, told Anoop.
In North America, the largest market is United States of America that consists of 60% of the total market share. Canada at present consists of over 30% of total market share which is still growing.
Talking about the difference between the services of Harley Davidson and other competitors, Anoop told,” The biggest advantage we have is not just our motorcycle and pricing but also the community build around Harley Davidson.”
Owning a Harley Davidson Bike makes one a part of Harley Owners Group, a riders community across Canada. The group organises biking events on regular basis and involves all the members to ride and experience the motorcycle adventure.
“We have year round events. We are doing our first rally of the year in Chilliwack near Vancouver around July. Also the local Harley group chapters that are affiliated with the dealers, they organized local level events”, said Anoop.
There are three Harley Davidson Dealers in Surrey who host Harley Davidson events for the riders throughout the year.
At present, Harley Davidson has nine store locations across BC, inclusive of three locations in Vancouver itself.
“We are planning to open up a 10th location in Richmond area this year as Vancouver is a very important area for motorcycling. The weather, road conditions and surroundings allow you to ride throughout the year”, said Anoop.
Apart from expanding in Vancouver, Harley Davidson has plans to accelerate in Toronto and Montreal as well.
The brand is all geared up for their next MMIC Motorcycle show in Quebec City on Feb 5, followed by Toronto on Feb 19’2016.
Harley Davidson is running special interest rate promotion of 0.99% for new buyers during the MMIC motorcycle show i.e. until March 8’2016.
Anoop believes that it is very important for young riders to test drive the motorcycles that suite their riding style, comfort and confidence.
“Many of the youngster riders are not been exposed to Harley Davidson lifestyle. We want them to experience what the brand stands for. We want them to experience the freedom, character, heritage and history of Harley Davidson”, quoted Anoop.
