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

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!”