The turn to electric is not new to Harley-Davidson. In 2019, the LiveWire already marked a historic break in the manufacturer’s strategy. Although having aroused positive reactions, including ours, this motorcycle was nevertheless penalized by an exorbitant price for motorcyclists since it exceeded 30,000 €.
Nevertheless, explains Jochen Zeitz, the brand’s CEO, this desire to go electric meets a need: the clientele is aging and Harley-Davidson must turn to new customers. This is how in 2021, the manufacturer made a marketing pass by transforming the LiveWire name into a standalone brand. The challenge here is obviously to attract younger and more affluent bikers. At the same time, the LiveWire production line has been streamlined, with this first electric motorcycle from the manufacturer seeing its price reduced to €21,000… without accelerating sales.
As soon as it was created, LiveWire unveiled the LiveWire S2 Del Mar, a more accessible model and the first to use the new Arrow modular platform dedicated to the manufacturer’s electric motorcycles. In 18 minutes, the 100 copies of this street tracker electric Launch Edition had passed. Indeed, it delivers 80 hp for 190 kg and 160 km of autonomy, all at the price of $ 17,000 certainly still high, but able to seduce some first owners ready to stand out. And it is exactly this clientele with higher purchasing power, eager for new technologies, that the CEO of Harley-Davidson intends to seduce.
We already knew that a lower-end S3 is being developed with Kymco, and that a much more ambitious S4, supposed to face the manufacturer’s historic customs, is in preparation. However, this is the first time the CEO has publicly announced that the company is preparing its transition to all-electric. However, he specifies that this will not happen overnight and gives no deadline.
“It takes decades, doesn’t it? We must also think in decades rather than wondering which year we will turn the page on thermal and the short-termism to which everyone is exposed as a public company. We have to think about the transition, and preparing for it is why LiveWire was born”says Jochen Zeitz.
For the moment, interested French bikers will have to be patient: LiveWire has not announced the marketing in Europe of these future models.