The company's new spinoff brand's first electric motorcycle.
The LiveWire One, Harley-latest Davidson's battery-powered vehicle, is reviving the company's effort into electric motorcycles. While the new bike will have similar specifications to the company's initial LiveWire motorcycle, it will be more affordably priced in order to attract more customers.
The LiveWire One will be priced at $21,999 before any federal, state, or local tax incentives are applied. (Any electric motorcycle capable of travelling at least 45 miles per hour is eligible for a federal tax credit of up to $2,500.) When these credits are factored in, Harley-Davidson claims that the price will fall below $20,000 for the majority of consumers.
HARLEY-DAVIDSON SAID THE PRICE WILL ACTUALLY FALL BELOW $20,000 FOR MOST CUSTOMERS
Customers in only three states will be able to purchase the LiveWire One at first: California, New York, and Texas. The business is embracing a "hybrid" approach to retail, allowing customers to complete the majority of their buying online before picking up their bike at a local Harley-Davidson dealership. The LiveWire One will be sold by 12 dealerships at first, but the business expects that number to rise next year.
The LiveWire One will be able to travel 146 city miles on a single charge, according to Harley-Davidson, although it is unclear how that would translate on the highway. (This is presumably due to the fact that the range decreases as you speed up.) Even so, it's only a smidgeon.
There are a few additional significant variations, albeit Harley-Davidson did not provide a spec sheet at the time of publication. The LiveWire One's battery will charge from 0 to 100% in 60 minutes or 0 to 80% in 45 minutes when plugged into a DC fast charger. This new bike will incorporate a six-axis IMU (inertial measuring unit) for traction control and anti-lock braking, similar to the original LiveWire.
In an interview, Harley-Davidson CEO Jochen Zeitz noted, "It's a very different riding experience." “It's exhilarating because it's such a quick and nimble motorcycle... you can go from 0 to 100 [mph] in no time.”
A comparison of the two LiveWire motorcycles, as well as other electric two-wheelers, will show more about the new brand's ability to attract new customers. We'll have to wait until July 18th, when Harley-Davidson plans to reveal the LiveWire One at the Northern California International Motorcycle Show. If you can't wait that long, you can place an order at LiveWire.com.
While the first LiveWire was commended for being well-made and enjoyable to ride, it was frequently chastised for being too expensive, with a starting price of $29,799. Within the company's lineup, there was also an apparent dearth of options. If you truly desired to purchase an electric vehicle,
It put Harley-Davidson at a disadvantage in the developing electric motorbike market, where businesses like Zero Motorcycles are selling a variety of models for $10,000 to $16,000.
However, whereas the initial LiveWire was intended to show what Harley-Davidson could achieve with an electric motor, the LiveWire One is intended to be a more serious attempt to acquire those city-dwelling customers that the firm sees as critical to its long-term survival. The question is if this market niche exists at all.
“This is not a product sold through a regular dealer network,” Zeitz explained. “It's a new brand,” says the narrator. It's a different way of approaching the market.”
Zeitz disputed the notion that the company's main customers, the ageing "boomers," were a problem unique to Harley-Davidson. “Isn't it true that the world's population is ageing?” he joked. “So this isn't just a Harley issue.”
“IT’S A NEW BRAND. IT’S A NEW GO-TO-MARKET APPROACH.”
However, he admitted that the idea with LiveWire is to appeal to a new generation of moviegoers who didn't grow up seeing classics like Easy Rider. “Every brand needs to innovate... and excite the next generation about your product and the experience you deliver,” Zeitz said, citing the 2020 television series Long Way Up as an example of the appeal of electric motorcycles, in which actor Ewan McGregor and TV presenter Charley Boorman ride LiveWires from Argentina to Los Angeles.
With the LiveWire One, the company is recommitting itself to the electrification of an entire product line. Earlier this year, Harley-Davidson decided to spin off LiveWire into its own brand, with the goal of launching multiple electric motorcycles under that nameplate. LiveWire One is the first product of that effort, and there will be more to come.
The company telegraphed this move in its Hardwire strategic plan to reinvigorate its flagging sales over the next five years. This dedicated division would be “focused exclusively on leading the future of electric motorcycles,” the company said in its plan.
But while LiveWire will certainly play a significant role in Harley-Davidson’s future, the company is not planning to phase out gas-powered vehicles anytime soon. That’s not the case in the auto industry, with giants like Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen, Honda, Volvo, and others promising to go EV-only within the next decade. Meanwhile, California has said it would ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035. Other states are sure to follow.
A LOT OF FACTORS HOLD HARLEY-DAVIDSON BACK FROM GOING WHOLE HOG (PUN INTENDED) ON ELECTRIFICATION
There are a number of obstacles preventing Harley-Davidson from going all-in on electrification. For one thing, there is less space on a motorcycle than in a car, therefore the battery must be more compact. This reduces the bike's range, making it more difficult to sell to consumers interested in cross-country or touring journeys. And those individuals make up a sizable chunk of the company's clientele. Furthermore, the EV charging infrastructure in the United States is fragmented, unreliable, and frankly, a shambles.
“There is no path to electrifying a touring bike and giving it the three or four hundred miles that you would want,” Zeitz said. “And also bearing in mind that fast charging infrastructure is not common yet outside of the city. And even within the city, it’s not always available.”
Zeitz, who joined Harley-Davidson in 2020 after 18 years as CEO of Puma, said that “synthetic fuels are not something that you can fully disregard,” and that he was hoping for a “major revolution in that space” to help the company navigate the post-fossil fuel future.
“However, electrification will play a huge role,” he continued. “On the other hand, only time will tell. We will undoubtedly be prepared for both as a company.”
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