Harley-Davidson, iconic brand on the decline, makes a big electric shift
Harley-Davidson can breathe. By announcing, in mid-May, their desire to "solve the problem" of the punitive taxes that they have imposed on each other for three years, the European Union and the United States have removed the specter of a tax of 56 % which was to strike, as of Tuesday, June 1, this brand faces a slow but persistent decline.
By relocating part of its production to Thailand, the Milwaukee (Wisconsin) firm managed to circumvent the vindictiveness of Brussels, which imposed sanctions targeting American imports of jeans, bourbon, orange juice and motorcycles, in retaliation for the customs duties decreed since 2018 by the former President of the United States Donald Trump, in particular on European imports of steel and aluminum.
Read alsoArticle reserved for our subscribersHarley Davidson, faded Trump icon, targeted by Europeans“This is the first step in the right direction, in a trade dispute that is not our fault. Harley-Davidson employees, dealers and motorcycles have no place in this trade war”, welcomes the manufacturer, forgetting in passing that, in the 1980s, it had partly owed its survival to customs protections imposed by Ronald Reagan. to counter Japanese brands.
The relief is all the greater as worldwide sales of Harleys have been withering for more than a decade. On the French market, they went from 9,144 in 2018 to 6,614 in 2020, according to the firm AAA Data. The manufacturer, which has cut 700 jobs over the past year in the United States, is still looking for a second wind. For its new president, the German Jochen Zeitz, former boss of the equipment manufacturer Puma, this requires accelerated electrification, while Japanese and European manufacturers, such as BMW, are moving more cautiously in this area.
@cestlavie9090 @BTS_twt i hate cutting meat, so every time i'm like jimin. but using scissors isn’t a bad strategy.… https://t.co/TNQ4TOw9r3
- OF THE. ⁷ || 🏳️🌈 Thu Apr 30 15:00:21 +0000 2020
Shake up your own image
On May 11, Harley-Davidson announced plans to create a brand specifically for electric motorcycles. This new division will take on the name – LiveWire – of the model launched in 2019, but which did not enjoy the expected success. Elitist (its price starts at 33,900 dollars, or about 28,000 euros), with a range slightly over 200 km and emitting a kind of turbine noise, the LiveWire has been accused of blurring the image of Harley, inseparable from long road rides accompanied by the inimitable cavernous sound of a V-twin.
The manufacturer nevertheless intends to persevere in the path of electrification, still in its infancy for two-wheelers. “By launching LiveWire as a fully-fledged, 100% electric brand, Harley-Davidson offers itself the opportunity to control and define the market for electric motorcycles. With the mission of becoming the most attractive brand of electric motorcycles in the world”, pleads a spokesperson. A first model, which should be more affordable, will be presented at the beginning of July.
You have 26.06% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.