Latest news with #Harley-DavidsonJapan
Japan Today
19 hours ago
- Automotive
- Japan Today
Harley-Davidson Japan faces fine over excessive sales quotas
Japan's antitrust watchdog is set to fine the domestic unit of motorcycle company Harley-Davidson Inc around 200 million yen for imposing excessive sales quotas on dealers in violation of the antimonopoly law, sources close to the matter have said. The Japan Fair Trade Commission will also issue a cease and desist order to Harley-Davidson Japan KK, based in Tokyo, over pressuring dealers by implying their exclusive sales contracts might not be renewed if they failed to meet the quotas, leading some to buy unsold motorcycles themselves. The commission has already notified Harley-Davidson Japan of the proposed disciplinary measures and will make a final decision after considering the firm's response, according to sources. Harley-Davidson Japan is alleged to have unilaterally imposed sales quotas on dozens of dealers from as late as January 2023. The firm has no directly managed stores, and only businesses that have concluded exclusive sales contracts are authorized to sell Harley-Davidson-branded motorcycles. The excessive quotas were discontinued following an investigation by the watchdog. In a similar case in 2019, the Japan unit of Germany's BMW AG was found to have imposed excessive sales quotas on dealers, forcing them to purchase unsold vehicles themselves to meet targets. © KYODO
Asahi Shimbun
21 hours ago
- Automotive
- Asahi Shimbun
FTC curbs Harley-Davidson Japan's coercive dealer policy
The Fair Trade Commission will issue a cease-and-desist order to and fine U.S. motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson's Japanese subsidiary about 200 million yen ($1.4 million) for setting excessive sales quotas on dealers, sources said. The FTC recognized that the company had violated the Anti-Monopoly Law by mandating the unfair sales quotas, which forced dealers to buy motorcycles with their own funds to retain contract dealerships. Harley-Davidson Japan KK is headquartered in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward. According to sources, since at least January 2023, the company has imposed strict sales quotas on dozens of dealers under contract without sufficient prior discussions or negotiations. The company allegedly implied that failure to meet the quotas would result in the non-renewal of contracts. Dealers, placed in a weak position, were effectively forced to purchase the motorcycles themselves. They temporarily registered the bikes under the names of the dealer, its president, or staff, and counted these as sales. After the dealers purchased the vehicles, the vehicles were considered 'registered but unused.' The dealers often had no choice but to sell them at discounted prices. 2 BMW EXECUTIVES JOINED HARLEY A similar case occurred at the Japanese subsidiary of German automaker BMW, which was punished by the FTC in 2021 for imposing excessive quotas on dealers between 2015 and 2019. According to sources, individuals involved with BMW at that time were later appointed as president and executive at Harley-Davidson Japan in 2020. It is believed that the practice of forcing dealers to buy vehicles out-of-pocket began at Harley under their leadership. The two top officials reportedly resigned after the FTC's on-site inspection in July 2024. According to Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd., Harley-Davidson Japan's sales for the fiscal year ending December 2023 rose by 24 percent year-over-year to 28 billion yen. However, sales for the year ending December 2024 declined by 21 percent to 22 billion yen. Data from the Japan Automobile Importers Association shows that Harley held the top share of newly registered imported small motorcycles in the last fiscal year, with 30.6 percent, representing 8,000 units.
Kyodo News
a day ago
- Automotive
- Kyodo News
Harley-Davidson Japan faces fine over excessive sales quotas
KYODO NEWS - 6 hours ago - 07:05 | All, Japan Japan's antitrust watchdog is set to fine the domestic unit of motorcycle company Harley-Davidson Inc. around 200 million yen ($1.4 million) for imposing excessive sales quotas on dealers in violation of the antimonopoly law, sources close to the matter have said. The Japan Fair Trade Commission will also issue a cease and desist order to Harley-Davidson Japan K.K., based in Tokyo, over pressuring dealers by implying their exclusive sales contracts might not be renewed if they failed to meet the quotas, leading some to buy unsold motorcycles themselves. The commission has already notified Harley-Davidson Japan of the proposed disciplinary measures and will make a final decision after considering the firm's response, according to sources. Harley-Davidson Japan is alleged to have unilaterally imposed sales quotas on dozens of dealers from as late as January 2023. The firm has no directly managed stores, and only businesses that have concluded exclusive sales contracts are authorized to sell Harley-Davidson-branded motorcycles. The excessive quotas were discontinued following an investigation by the watchdog. In a similar case in 2019, the Japan unit of Germany's BMW AG was found to have imposed excessive sales quotas on dealers, forcing them to purchase unsold vehicles themselves to meet targets.
The Mainichi
a day ago
- Automotive
- The Mainichi
Harley-Davidson Japan faces fine over excessive sales quotas
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's antitrust watchdog is set to fine the domestic unit of motorcycle company Harley-Davidson Inc. around 200 million yen ($1.4 million) for imposing excessive sales quotas on dealers in violation of the antimonopoly law, sources close to the matter have said. The Japan Fair Trade Commission will also issue a cease and desist order to Harley-Davidson Japan K.K., based in Tokyo, over pressuring dealers by implying their exclusive sales contracts might not be renewed if they failed to meet the quotas, leading some to buy unsold motorcycles themselves. The commission has already notified Harley-Davidson Japan of the proposed disciplinary measures and will make a final decision after considering the firm's response, according to sources. Harley-Davidson Japan is alleged to have unilaterally imposed sales quotas on dozens of dealers from as late as January 2023. The firm has no directly managed stores, and only businesses that have concluded exclusive sales contracts are authorized to sell Harley-Davidson-branded motorcycles. The excessive quotas were discontinued following an investigation by the watchdog. In a similar case in 2019, the Japan unit of Germany's BMW AG was found to have imposed excessive sales quotas on dealers, forcing them to purchase unsold vehicles themselves to meet targets.
Kyodo News
a day ago
- Automotive
- Kyodo News
Harley-Davidson Japan faces fine over excessive sales quotas
KYODO NEWS - 2 hours ago - 07:05 | All, Japan Japan's antitrust watchdog is set to fine the domestic unit of motorcycle company Harley-Davidson Inc. around 200 million yen ($1.4 million) for imposing excessive sales quotas on dealers in violation of the antimonopoly law, sources close to the matter have said. The Japan Fair Trade Commission will also issue a cease and desist order to Harley-Davidson Japan K.K., based in Tokyo, over pressuring dealers by implying their exclusive sales contracts might not be renewed if they failed to meet the quotas, leading some to buy unsold motorcycles themselves. The commission has already notified Harley-Davidson Japan of the proposed disciplinary measures and will make a final decision after considering the firm's response, according to sources. Harley-Davidson Japan is alleged to have unilaterally imposed sales quotas on dozens of dealers from as late as January 2023. The firm has no directly managed stores, and only businesses that have concluded exclusive sales contracts are authorized to sell Harley-Davidson-branded motorcycles. The excessive quotas were discontinued following an investigation by the watchdog. In a similar case in 2019, the Japan unit of Germany's BMW AG was found to have imposed excessive sales quotas on dealers, forcing them to purchase unsold vehicles themselves to meet targets.
