HARLEY-DAVIDSON has taken the bold, and rather sensible step of launching LiveWire as a standalone all-electric motorcycle brand.
Harley-Davidson LiveWire (2020) Review
Freed from the shackles of heritage and history, LiveWire is setting itself up as a forward-thinking disruptor in the electric space, and there might be more on the horizon than simply electric bikes.
The press release from Harley talks about focusing on the urban mobility market in the first instance, although going on to say that ‘LiveWire will pioneer the electric motorcycle space, and beyond’. What this means exactly remains unclear, although there is a lot of demand in the four-wheeled world for the technology and learnings garnered in the electric two-wheeled sector.
As far as the early days of the LiveWire brand will play out, we have a fairly good indication of the direction of travel. Harley has already teased us with some urban mobility solutions, and they are more than simple pipe dreams. We saw the patent images for the bikes in early 2020. And they weren’t simple schematics outlining an idea. Some of Harley's future projects even made it onto the H-D website, although around this time last year they were taken down as Harley sought to focus on its core customers.
Whichever way the firm goes, we won’t have to wait too long to see the first LiveWire branded motorcycle, as it is scheduled to launch on July 8, 2021, and to premiere at the International Motorcycle Show on July 9, 2021. For more information and updates, register at livewire.com.
Jochen Zeitz, chairman, president, and CEO of H-D said:
"One of the six pillars of The Hardwire Strategy is to lead in electric – by launching LiveWire as an all-electric brand, we are seizing the opportunity to lead and define the market in EV. With the mission to be the most desirable electric motorcycle brand in the world, LiveWire will pioneer the future of motorcycling, for the pursuit of urban adventure and beyond. LiveWire also plans to innovate and develop technology that will be applicable to Harley-Davidson electric motorcycles in the future."
For more information or to check out the new LiveWire website for yourself, head to: www.livewire.com
