Rennie Scaysbrook | July 30, 2018
New Harley-Davidson Models on The Way.—Harley-Davidson has gone on record to divulge its plans for the next five years under the More Roads To Harley-Davidson growth plan, which includes new models, expanded dealer networks, and more access to customers by partnering with various e-commerce firms.
New Harley-Davidson Models on The Way
Harley-Davidson will move into the adventure touring market with the Pan America 1250 in 2020.
Harley-Davidson has been in a steady decline in recent years with sales dropping at an alarming rate. The company recently released its second-quarter sales figures that showed a 6.4 percent in the U.S. domestic market, although international sales were up by 0.7 percent over the same period.
“The bold actions we are announcing today leverage Harley-Davidson’s vast capabilities and competitive firepower – our excellence in product development and manufacturing, the global appeal of the brand and of course, our great dealer network,” said Matt Levatich, president and chief executive officer, Harley-Davidson, Inc. “Alongside our existing loyal riders, we will lead the next revolution of two-wheeled freedom to inspire future riders who have yet to even think about the thrill of riding.”
At the heart of the plan lies four new motorcycles with more to be announced in the future. Based around a new middleweight platform ranging from 500cc to 1250cc, there’ll be three new bikes being prepared for launch in 2020 in the Pan America 1250 adventure tourer, 1250cc Custom and 975cc Streetfighter. The fourth motorcycle to be launched is one of the most anticipated bikes in Harley-Davidson’s history in the Livewire electric machine.
Harley-Davidson will also make a new small capacity machine (250-500cc) to serve developing markets like China and India. This machine will not be produced in the U.S. as the company will be partnering with an Asian manufacturer for the project.
Unfortunately, Harley-Davidson has released no specifications of the upcoming machines in its press release, save for mentioning what powers each new model.
Harley-Davidson Pan America™ 1250
The Pan America will be the first Harley-Davidson adventure touring motorcycle and will be powered by the 1250cc liquid-cooled V-twin, with plans for launch in 2020.
Future Streetfighter model
The Streetfighter gets the 975cc motor part of the 500cc to 1250cc middleweight sector. Plans at this stage have this bike being launched in 2020.
Future Custom Model
Using what appears to be the same motor as the Pan America adventure tourer, in 2021 there’ll also be what H-D calls its new Custom—a stripped back, modern take on what looks suspiciously like the old V-Rod.
Harley-Davidson LiveWire™
The Livewire will finally come into production in 2019, after the company first demonstrated a prototype version back in 2013.
Future Electric Models
Harley-Davidson also announced it will move further into the electric mobility sector, with a series of models including a flat tracker-style machine, a mountain bike with a small electric motor and an electric commuter. All of these bike plan to be released by 2022.
More Roads To Harley-Davidson
The More Roads To Harley-Davidson initiative will see the company reinvest “previously planned investment and resources including operating investment through 2022 of $450 to $550 million and capital investment through 2022 of $225 to $275 million. In total, the company plans More Roads to Harley-Davidson to generate more than $1 billion of incremental annual revenue in 2022 as compared to 2017,” according to the press release.
H-D is planning new retail experiences including smaller retail outlets and urban storefronts to expose the brand to more customers, as well as “establishing strategic alliances with global leading e-commerce providers to extend access to Harley-Davidson to a pool of millions of potential new customers.” There will also be a massive focus on improving the dealer network.
Additional Information
Additional information can be accessed at H-D.com/acceleratedstrategy. Harley-Davidson will host a question and answer session for analysts focusing on the More Roads to Harley-Davidson plan via webcast at 12:30 p.m. CT on Monday, July 30, 2018 (http://investor.harley-davidson.com/news-and-events/events-and-presentations). The audio replay of the analyst Q&A will be available by approximately 3:00 p.m. CT.
