Polaris considers moving some of its motorcycle production out of the US

Written by Joseph Nordqvist

Published: 00:35, July 1, 2018

Minnesota-based Polaris Industries said on Friday that the company is considering moving production of some of its motorcycles overseas.

Polaris manufactures motorcycles through its Victory Motorcycles subsidiary and through the Indian Motorcycle subsidiary which it acquired in 2011.

A 2016 Indian Springfield. Photo by Doronik – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.

A spokesperson for Polaris told the Associated Press that it could move some of its production in Iowa to Poland. However, they added that “nothing is definitive”.

“We’re looking at a range of mitigation plans,” the spokeswoman, Jess Rogers, told the AP.

Rogers told the AP that the European tariffs on US motorcycles would increase costs for the company above the $15 million in additional costs already projected for the year.

The news comes after Harley-Davidson announced on Monday that it would be moving production of motorcycles for the European market out of the US because of the retaliatory tariffs the EU imposed on US goods, which affected motorcycles.

Harley-Davidson said that the tariffs would add around $2,200 per motorcycle exported to the EU.

Harley spokesman Michael Pflughoeft was quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying:

“Expanding international production to alleviate the EU tariff burden is not our preference, but it’s the only sustainable option we have to make motorcycles available and affordable to EU customers.”

US President Donald Trump was quick to respond to the decision by Harley on Twitter.

“Harley-Davidson should stay 100% in America, with the people that got you your success,” Trump tweeted on Wednesday. “I’ve done so much for you, and then this. Other companies are coming back where they belong! We won’t forget, and neither will your customers or your now very HAPPY competitors!”

 

Joseph Nordqvist Avatar

Other News

East African Community trade reaches $52.3bn as exports drive surplus

Sep 16, 2026

Canada says its investment summit mobilised nearly C$500bn. What does that actually mean?

Sep 16, 2026

May Mobility agrees $1.4B SPAC deal, bets on asset-light robotaxi model

Sep 16, 2026

Fed raises rates to 3.75% to 4.00% as inflation remains elevated

Sep 16, 2026

IBM-backed Anderon finalizes up to $1B US quantum foundry award

Sep 16, 2026

WTO puts the cost of trade fragmentation at up to 10% of global GDP

Sep 15, 2026

Salesforce launches Koa, a CRM reasoning model built on Nvidia’s Nemotron

Sep 15, 2026

Could humanoid AI companions ever replace human partners?

Sep 15, 2026

IEA forecasts record global coal demand after gas prices climb

Sep 15, 2026

UK government to pursue public acquisition of Speciality Steel UK

Sep 15, 2026

IMF says global current-account gaps widened in 2025, led by China and the United States

Sep 14, 2026

Alan Lovell takes over as British Steel chair as government pursues turnaround

Sep 14, 2026

Plumbing or college: weighing pay, training and AI exposure

Sep 13, 2026

Why more advanced VR equipment does not always feel more real

Sep 13, 2026

VR pilot training shows promise before a student’s first real flight

Sep 13, 2026

Family businesses face a gap between succession plans and readiness

Sep 13, 2026

EU keeps battery recycling targets as industry prepares for tougher recovery rules

Sep 13, 2026

UK firms report patchy recovery while hiring plans stay flat

Sep 13, 2026

Positron wins new backing for an AI chip built around cheaper memory

Sep 13, 2026

EU employment rises, but 24 million people still want more work

Sep 13, 2026