You thought electric cars were having a tough time? Harley-Davidson’s electric bike brand is getting crushed
LiveWire wanted to sell 101,000 bikes by 2026 — in the latest quarter they sold 55.
When Harley-Davidson decided to spin off its electric bikes division in 2021, the iconic motorbike maker had high hopes about the new LiveWire business, looking to sell some 101,000 units by 2026.
But despite the legacy automaker’s expertise in all things with two wheels, the electric market is proving to be shockingly tough. In the second quarter, LiveWire sold just 55 electric motorcycles, racking up more than $18 million in operating losses. That works out to fewer than one bike per day.
With Harley still owning a controlling share of LiveWire’s lagging business, those losses are weighing on Harley’s already pressured bottom line.
Back in 2021, when electric vehicle companies were racing to go public through Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs), Harley-Davidson merged its in-house electric bikes division with a blank check company to bring in a fresh $500 million of external capital through private and SPAC investments.
Nobody asked for this
The theory was that — unlike eventual SPAC EV tragedies like Lucid Motors (down 75% since IPO) and Nikola (down 99% since IPO) — Harley’s history as a reliable manufacturer would set LiveWire apart from its nascent four-wheeled electric peers, allowing the company to serve the millions of people who, presumably, they thought would want to ride an electric motorbike.
Unfortunately, millions of people ended up being more like hundreds of people. Were Harley-Davidson customers crying out for an electric bike with a combined range of just 95 miles? Probably not.
Interestingly, there is one part of LiveWire’s business that’s thriving: selling electric balance bikes for kids. Indeed, the company’s STACYC brand accounted for ~85% of LiveWire’s revenue, and it grew its sales 25% in the latest quarter, while its electric bike sales for adults dropped 65%.
Harley CEO Jochen Zeitz commented in the first-quarter earnings call that the EV adoption is “just not happening as originally anticipated.” Harley has not made any additional investment agreements into LiveWire since Q1 2024, instead focusing on restructuring its own business: Harley’s stock rose 13% on Wednesday after securing a cash infusion from KKR and Pimco.
