(Yicai Global) Sept. 15 -- Qianjiang Motorcycle’s stock price rose after the Chinese company said it had signed a deal to set up a joint venture plant with Harley-Davidson Motor to make and sell Harley-branded motorbikes in China.

After jumping as much as 5.7 percent earlier today, Qianjiang’s shares [SHE:000913] ended 1.9 percent up at CNY14.87 (USD2.31) each. The broader Shenzhen market fell 0.6 percent.

Qianjiang will own 80 percent of the JV and Harley the rest, according to the agreement they signed on Sept. 13, the Wenling, Zhejiang province-based firm company in a statement late yesterday. The new firm, which will build a factory in Wenling, will have registered capital of USD2.5 million.

Founded in the United States in 1903, Milwaukee-based Harley is one of the world's best known motorcycle brands. Qianjiang, established in 1985, is a motorbike unit of Chinese automaker Geely Holding Group.

Harley said in June 2019 that it would cooperate with Qianjiang to start selling small-engine motorbikes in China before the end of 2020, but the plan failed to make progress over the following two years. Harley wants international sales to make up half of all its revenue by 2027.

Under the latest deal, the pair will develop two Harleys for the Chinese market, Qianjiang said. One will have a 338 cubic centimeter engine and the other a 500 CC engine. It did not disclose any more details about investment or the plant’s construction timetable.

The motorcycles produced at the plant will be exclusively distributed by Harley’s sales unit in China, Qianjiang said, adding that the JV has the support of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Editor: Futura Costaglione