In the last few years, Harley-Davidson has made clear its intentions to produce an electric motorcycle. But the company had not really committed to the idea until now. An electric motorcycle will surely be a big product for the company. However, there is nothing concrete yet on how the bike will look, its specs, and other related information. Chief executives at the company told us that they will have something ready in 18 months.
It’s not the first time though that the company is making a serious attempt to launch an electric motorcycle. In 2014, Harley-Davidson launched an electric motorcycle prototype dubbed LiveWire. It was quite an impressive bike in terms of specs. For instance, the bike could go from 0-60 mph in just four seconds. However, it still had some serious shortcomings. For example, the bike was only limited to 55 miles of range on its economy mode.
The bike never really took off as expected. Presumably, Harley-Davidson has learned from the failures of the 2014 Livewire. The proposed new electric motorcycle will, of course, retain some of the features of the older prototype but it needs to boost the range.
It’s been almost four years since then, and during this time, there have been huge advancements in electric vehicles. The electric motorcycle industry has, in particular, made significant progress, and there’s no doubt that the proposed Harley-Davidson model will be a far superior option compared to the previous prototype.
Despite the good news, there were other troubling developments announced by the company. Harley-Davidson confirmed that it was closing down its factory in Missouri. This would lead to a loss of about 800 jobs. The company also noted that it will consolidate operations in another factory in Pennsylvania. The total employees there will be reduced to only 256.
2017 wasn’t a good year for motorcycle manufacturers. The industry has lagged behind in recent years with no significant growth to report. Harley-Davidson has been caught up in all of these issues and the legacy bike company has really felt the pinch. For example, sales for the year 2017 dropped by 6.7% with the same declining trend expected in 2018.
It’s not clear whether adopting electric technology will be enough to save the company. Riding a bike is always a thrilling experience and the roaring sound of the combustion engine is part of this excitement. But an all-electric bike will take this away and the attraction of the motorcycle could drop.
To address this issue, Harley-Davidson introduced an artificial sound that whined as the rider accelerated on its 2014 Livewire prototype. However, this didn’t offer the same thrill as the authentic loud pipes that the bikes had become known for.
But this is the least of concerns for Harley-Davidson. There is a need to significantly improve the range and this will be the toughest task yet for the company. Harley-Davidson will also need a unique marketing model to go beyond traditional motorbike customers. 18 months is not a long time and we will be looking forward to the first prototype.
