"Having the production facility here will help build up Harley-Davidson's sales not only in Thailand, but also in the region." Last year, the 24,880 units of big bikes were sold in Thailand, up 22.3% from a year before. With the local facility, Harley-Davidson can take advantage of tax breaks for its shipment to Asean countries under the regional free trade area incentives, Ms Whitmore said. The JTEPA has entailed cutting the 30% import tariff on big bikes and their parts by five percentage points a year. "At present, Thais can afford to buy the big bikes, similar to fans of supercars, and these big bikes can be used not only for everyday riding, but also for travelling or recreation."

Source: Bangkok Post July 10, 2017 00:00 UTC