Harley's Electric Plans Include Selling 100k Bikes Annually By 2026
MoCo's EV division LiveWire will soon be cranking out more bikes than ever.
Ambitious Plans
It's no secret that the LiveWire wasn't going to be Harley-Davidson's only electric bike, but rather, one that will soon be joined by many more in what has proven to be a growing segment with increased competition. MoCo recently spun off its all-electric motorcycle division into its own entity of the same name, one that has ambitious plans for the next few years.
Photos: Harley-Davidson
Big Numbers
Harley recently released its latest investor prospectus, which reveals that it intends to build and sell 100,000 electric motorcycles annually by 2026, a number that would then grow to 190,000 by 2030, according to the Milwaukee Business Journal. As one might expect, reaching that point also calls for massive a investment of $1.77 billion by 2026 and $3 billion by 2030.
Photos: Harley-Davidson
Massive Growth
"While the electric motorcycle market is in the early stages of its development, we expect global electric vehicle penetration to expand from 6% of units in 2021 to 25% by 2030, implying electric motorcycle market growth from $2.5 billion in sales to approximately $20 billion to $28 billion over the same period," the prospectus reads.
Photos: Harley-Davidson
Drop in the Bucket
It will certainly be interesting to see if Harley is correct about its prediction, given the fact that it isn't selling a large quantity of LiveWire motorcycles these days. The iconic company has only moved around 1,600 of them since 2019, which represents a tiny drop in the bucket compared to its overall sales.
Photos: Harley-Davidson
Pricing Problems
Part of the reason for that low number is the fact that the original LiveWire was a bit pricey with an asking price north of $30k, of course. The LiveWire was later revamped into the "One" and is now considerably cheaper, which makes it a bit more competitive with flagship electric bikes from companies like Zero.
Photos: Harley-Davidson
Future Moves
Sales figure to ramp up considerably once Harley rolls out more affordable all-electric motorcycles, however, starting with a new middleweight bike built on its new Arrow platform dubbed the Del Mar. That future model ditches the LiveWire's traditional frame in favor of a structural battery pack and a direct drive electric motor that will make it far less expensive to manufacture, as well as purchase.
Photos: Harley-Davidson
Staying Afloat
Once Harley can build and sell electric bikes that are on par, cost-wise, with its ICE offerings, sales are well-primed to take off. While the bulk of MoCo's customers aren't interested in such things, there are plenty of folks out there that covet an electric motorcycle, and capturing that market will certainly help the company stay afloat in the coming years.
Photos: Harley-Davidson
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