SINGAPORE - American motorcycle brand Harley-Davidson has appointed Wearnes Automotive as its new dealer for Singapore, confirming a report by The Straits Times in June.

Wearnes will take over from Komoco Motorcycles on Sept 14. Komoco Motorcycles, part of the motor group owned by hotelier Ong Beng Seng and which represents brands such as Hyundai and Ferrari, has been a Harley dealer since 1993.

In a brief news release on Tuesday (Aug 23), Harley-Davidson said it will "temporarily" operate out of 45 Leng Kee Road - Wearnes' flagship multi-brand facility that also houses rival motorcycle brand Ducati - until early 2023, when it will relocate to a permanent address at 28 Leng Kee Road.

The latter is currently occupied by Wearnes' Renault showroom, with Wearnes saying that half of the space will be carved out for Harley-Davidson.

Harley, which did not give a reason for changing dealership, said it will "occupy a bespoke building, making it the flagship store for the Harley-Davidson brand in Singapore".

According to Land Transport Authority figures, there are around 2,200 Harley-Davidson motorbikes on the road here, versus around 3,500 BMW and 1,800 Ducati motorbikes.

Last year, 105 new Harleys were registered here, up from 60 in 2020. In the first seven months of this year, 58 were registered, compared with 112 BMW motorbikes.

Besides its suite of car brands such as Volvo and Bentley, Wearnes also represents high-end Italian motorcycle marque Ducati.

In the first seven months of this year, 78 Ducati motorbikes were registered. Last year, 173 were put on the road, versus 114 in 2020.

Five years ago, Wearnes invested $35 million to build an eight-storey glass-covered complex with 200,000 sq ft of floor space in Leng Kee Road. Harley's temporary showroom will be on the sixth floor in the tower block.

Two weeks ago, Komoco Motorcycles put out a notice to thank customers and to say that its last day as Harley dealer was Sept 13.