Indian Said Harley Launched a 'Conquest' Incentive After the Company's Sale. Harley Says It's Always Been There

I've been covering the automotive and powersports industries for the last 15-odd years. Before that, I worked as a porter at a host of local car dealerships, and even as a salesperson for a whopping 4 months. I, honestly, couldn't take how deceitful the whole game was and just walked out one day and never looked back. 

That's the context of this rant, as it's one born of the political-style attack ad that Indian Motorcycles launched against its main competitor, Harley-Davidson, and its response to the backlash that entailed from the general public.

See, in responding to the thousands upon thousands of comments on its social media accounts, as well as the litany of comments denouncing the brand's comments about Harley's DEI initiatives, its choice in CEOs, and how it's failed "real riders," Indian's brass, through an unnamed spokesperson, claimed that Harley had launched what's known as a "conquest" program against Indian the day that Carolwood LP, the private equity firm that purchased the motorcycle brand from Polaris, signed the contract and announced that Mike Kennedy would become the new CEO. It's become its own story, with more outlets reporting on the sales methodology and repeating Indian's claims.

That, however, doesn't hold water in my opinion and experience. And according to a Harley-Davidson spokesperson who talked with RideApart, it wasn't true either. 

To Conquer!

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Conquest sales are a part of the business of being a vehicle manufacturer, and it occurs in every portion of the vehicular industry. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is attempting to one-up the competition, either through what accessories it offers, the deals on the table, the tech-laden capabilities included, or through straight-up cash on the table when you switch from vehicle manufacturer A to vehicle manufacturer B. 

Search Google right now, and you'll find every manufacturer under the sun offering both conquest deals, as well as deals designed for those who are thinking about switching nameplates in the form of loyalty "incentives." From Infiniti to Polaris, Kawasaki to Ford, every vehicle manufacturer plays this game, and has been doing so for decades. 

A 1985 article from The New York Times details the practice, and goes on to quote a Ford executive, saying, "Hopes of attracting younger and more affluent buyers is one reason Ford has taken the gamble with European-type styling. 'We still have things like the Grand Marquis' - a big, square sedan - ''for our older buyers,' one Ford man said. 'But I think we can get some conquest sales from the imports with these cars.' A conquest sale, in Detroit's jargon, is when a company sells a car to a customer who had previously been driving a competitor's model."

That's two years before I was born, but the practice goes back decades further. It is not a new phenomenon, nor should it be treated as one, and both Indian and Harley each have had conquest programs in place for their respective competition. If they didn't, I'd question their marketing and sales teams' respective sanity, as there's always someone who's dissatisfied with their purchase that could be brought over to the other side. More than that, however, with just the lightest of research, I found this story from autoevolution, dated 2015, in which Indian Motorcycle was sending out press releases about its own Harley-Davidson conquest program.

Here's where I'll remind everyone once again that the internet is forever. But let's get back to Indian's accusation and why it really doesn't hold water. 

According to the comment delivered to RideApart's inbox, "Harley-Davidson understood competition when it launched its own 'Indian Conquest' program targeting Indian riders on the first day of Indian's new ownership and Mike Kennedy's first day as CEO. That was treated as business. When Indian competes back, it should not suddenly be treated as bad for motorcycling."

Now, according to a Harley-Davidson spokesperson, the brand does indeed have a conquest program for Indian customers willing to make the switch. But, according to them, the Motor Co. also has that same program for BMW, Honda, Kawasaki, and other brands, too. It wasn't, however, implemented on day 1 of Carolwood LP's ownership and Mike Kennedy being named CEO. It was already there, which is also the case with Indian's own conquest sales incentives, too.

Yet, by saying that Indian's attack ad campaign is fair and "understand[ing] competition" due to those reasons, Harley could've conceivably called out Indian for its own conquest incentives during the public spat between Harley's board and Jochen Zeitz, when Artie Starrs became CEO, or whenever Harley's had bad press in the last twenty years, too. Hell, Harley could've issued this type of statement a bunch of times when this whole culture-war BS came to a head last year after the brand was deemed "woke." Because Indian had those incentives on the table during those moments, too. 

Fair is fair, right?

My point of this rant is that conquest sales incentives, which are being reported on by a host of outlets as some new thing, aren't new. Conquest sales incentives are used by literally every single manufacturer, as they're great sales methods. Again, there's always someone unhappy with their vehicle, and if the company didn't and I were CEO—a terrifying thought if there ever was one—I'd fire the whole marketing and promotions team for gross misconduct.

Instead, what this is—in my opinion—is Indian Motorcycle's executives attempting to do damage control after they hurt their own reputation through their political-style attack ad campaign against Harley. But in doing so, they made it worse. And in the immortal words of Pepper Brooks, "It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off for 'em." Unlike the Average Joes, though, it doesn't seem to be. 

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