Over the previous few years, Harley-Davidson has been slowly however steadily deepening its electrification measures. The LiveWire was the primary manufacturing electrical bike out of the gate, after years of improvement. Driving traits and efficiency generated constructive suggestions, however lots of people balked at its $30,000 price ticket.
Nonetheless, if you happen to’ve watched expertise in varied sectors evolve, you in all probability knew to count on that whereas the early pricing may be excessive, these numbers would finally fall to a extra inexpensive stage. Positive sufficient, the LiveWire ONE got here alongside in 2021—which can be when Harley introduced plans to spin off LiveWire into its personal unbiased model. For all intents and functions, the LiveWire ONE was a LiveWire with a $21,999 MSRP to start out—which is a critical low cost over the OG LiveWire.
Then, in early 2022, as Harley was busy gearing as much as undergo with its particular goal acquisitions (SPAC) merger to take LiveWire public, we gained perception into the way forward for LiveWire’s deliberate product traces. First could be the S2 Del Mar, and positive sufficient, the limited-run Launch Version model launched in Could, 2022, adopted by the manufacturing run opening pre-orders within the again half of 2022.
The S2 bikes are Harley’s electrical middleweights, with its timeline additionally discussing S3 light-weight machines produced in cooperation with KYMCO. In any case that, it mentioned, the S4 electrical line would deal with electrical heavyweight bikes—just like the combustion ones which were Harley’s bread and butter for a century or extra.
This info has been public for a while—however till now, no definitive public statements had been made about the way forward for its combustion engines. In a January, 2023 interview with the design publication Dezeen, Harley-Davidson Chairman and CEO mentioned that the corporate is at the moment transitioning to change into all-electric in some unspecified time in the future down the road. Whereas he careworn that this received’t occur in a single day, and didn’t provide a objective 12 months (as another corporations have), he acknowledged in no unsure phrases that it’s already underway.
“Sooner or later in time, Harley Davidson might be all-electric. However that is a long-term transition that should occur. It isn’t one thing you do in a single day,” Zeitz advised Dezeen.
He went on to speak about desirous to honor the previous whereas concurrently evolving from it, and in addition mentioned of electrification that “it’s a pure evolution that wanted to occur.” A part of that evolution is, after all, attracting new clients to the model—aspirational, or in any other case. Growth of attire traces, for instance, are part of placing the corporate in entrance of people who find themselves exterior its core viewers, and who could not even have ridden any kind of bike earlier than.
Zeitz had much more to say on the topic, and you’ll learn all the interview on the hyperlink in our Sources.
