Harley-Davidson will build a motorcycle in and for China

Harley-Davidson will build a motorcycle in and for China. It will be based on a Benelli and will have a 338 cc engine.

Harley-Davidson will build a motorcycle in and for China. It is being developed together with Benelli and will launch next year. Some time ago, Harley-Davidson presented its future project, and rumours had already been circulating that it was working on a new generation of motorcycles for China.

Now, it is known that Harley-Davidson has teamed up with Qianjiang. They will be in charge of manufacturing the new HDs of under 350 cc. The image illustrating this news is the first prototype of Harley-Davidson that the brand will begin selling in China.

It is striking that the base used to develop the new model is the Benelli 302S, better known in our country as the Benelli BN 302. It has been given a new bodywork and additional details.

Harley-Davidson will create a new generation of motorcycles for China

These new motorcycles will arrive thanks to the agreement they recently signed with one of the Asian giants. Harley-Davidson is not the only brand to have signed this type of agreement: Triumph, KTM and even BMW have already teamed up with local brands to jointly develop new motorcycles exclusively for that domestic market.

Qianjiang is the manufacturer chosen by Harley-Davidson to develop its new motorcycles. Moreover, this company is an old acquaintance in the sector, since it is the owner of Benelli but also Volvo as it belongs to the technology giant Geely.

After the alliance between Harley-Davidson and Quianjiang Motorcycle Co was made public, they have assured that the new motorcycle they are working on will have a 338 cc engine and will reach the market at the end of next year, 2020. Subsequently, it will arrive in India.

This would not be the first time the American brand has had a small-displacement engine: it launched the Harley-Davidson SX250, developed with Aermacchi, and the Harley-Davidson MT 500 E, which was fitted with an Evolution engine from the Sportster. Now it is Benelli’s turn, and one only has to look at the chassis, the rear shock absorber or the swingarm.

This new Harley-Davidson strategy follows the path of other brands, as we have explained above. KTM and BMW have made similar moves, and it is the only way to develop new products with more affordable prices in displacements and countries where costs must be reviewed to the maximum in order to reach a greater number of people.