Harley-Davidson Spins LiveWire Into Its Own Brand of Electric Motorcycles
It’s focused on attracting younger buyers with the promise of zero-emission urban mobility.
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Harley-Davidson is known best for its rumbling cruiser motorcycles; however, the Milwaukee brand is betting big on a new line of electric bikes, as it announced on Monday.
First launched in 2019, the Harley-Davidson LiveWire was a single model meant as a response to a changing industry; an option to help younger and more environmentally conscious buyers consider the iconic brand. Likewise, it was released as more and more electric motorcycle manufacturers came to market. Harley, then, has chosen to embrace electric change and will expand its offerings by launching LiveWire into its own brand.
LiveWire will give H-D the opportunity to shift into the 21st Century, beginning with the buying experience. For starters, LiveWire will offer a blend of modernized retail fronts in both the digital and physical space, complete with dedicated showrooms to flaunt the marque. The brand will also be specifically targeting younger riders who are looking for something to appease their taste for urban adventure, making the choice for electrification a key component in its success.
Being aimed at a more youthful demographic, LiveWire must explore a price point attractive enough for its target audience. When the existing Harley-Davidson-branded LiveWire launched in 2019, it did so with an MSRP of $29,799—something which Reuters noted was a "super-premium" price that struggled to attract its ideal customers. It's not yet clear how the LiveWire brand will appeal to the same buyers, but perhaps a balance between range and price will be the balancing factor. With only 146 miles of range in the Harley-branded LiveWire, though, there's not much wiggle room.
This also isn't the first time that H-D has spun off a new brand catering to the emerging urban mobility segment. Just last year, H-D announced that it would dabble in the electric bicycle segment with the creation of its Serial 1 brand, a homage to the first motorcycle it ever built.
Despite being its own independent brand, LiveWire will share its technological advancements with its parent company, developing a two-way cooperation between the organizations. H-D wants to use this unique position to innovatively lead across the motorcycle industry, whether it be traditional gasoline-powered v-twins or silent LiveWire-branded bikes.
The new brand's first battery-powered motorycle will be unveiled on July 8, a day before the International Motorcycle Show.
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