Harley-Davidson appoint Ford CEO Jim Farley to their board

HARLEY-DAVIDSON has appointed Jim Farley, Ford CEO, as a new board member to try and breathe life into the motorcycle giant, and help prepare for an electric future. 

Jim Farley joins as the only new board nominee in April, and shareholders were notified in a letter from HD CEO Jochen Zeitz. Farley was appointed as Ford CEO back in October, and now Farley and Zeitz will work together by embracing the future of electric transportation. 

Harley-Davidson LiveWire review

Jim Farley is said to have experience with Harley-Davidson in the past, but perhaps only through his classic motorcycle collection which is said to include a couple of classic Harley motorcycles.

The American behemoth is looking to plant new foundations for their future, with recent releases of the Pan America and LiveWire branching out their current offerings in hope of appealing to a broader customer base. 

Zeitz clearly envisions the future of Harley-Davidson to be hand-in-hand with electric energy, as he recently hired a ‘chief electric vehicle officer’ last month, and was reported to be champion of the LiveWire when he served as a board member himself. 

Harley-Davidson will be looking to invest heavily in their electric motorcycles

Under guidance from Jim Farley, Ford spent $22 billion to electrify their current model lineups, and with Harley-Davidson selling 103,650 bikes in their home market in 2020 (despite the outrageously large number, that’s a 22% drop and the lowest in almost a decade), they’ll no doubt be looking to invest in their future models in the coming months (and onwards) to prevent further stagnation in the brand. 

Those new Harley owners are going to have to come from somewhere. 

The Milwaukee manufacturer will be looking to form a standalone electric-motorcycle division in the future, and they’re absolutely not messing around when it comes to investing in - and hoping to become a leader in - a developing industry.