- Title: USA: Harley-Davidson unveils electric motorcycle
- Date: 23rd June 2014
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (JUNE 23, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF HARLEY-DAVIDSON ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE ON DISPLAY VARIOUS OF MARK-HANS RICHER, HARLEY-DAVIDSON SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ON ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE (SOUNDBITE) (English) MARK-HANS RICHER, HARLEY-DAVIDSON SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, SAYING: "Well it's a Harley that happens to be electric. When you look at it, when you hear it, it may seem different but you'll also realize it's quite similar in the sense that it has emotion, it has character, it has attitude. And that's what Harley-Davidson has always been about and what will always be about, electric or otherwise. And we're not walking away from what we've been, we're just adding to it." ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE DEMONSTRATION VARIOUS OF DISPLAY PANEL (SOUNDBITE) (English) MARK-HANS RICHER, HARLEY-DAVIDSON SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, SAYING: "This could be a lot of things and that's what we're going to learn. This could be someone's third motorcycle in their garage. This could be their first and primary motorcycle. It could be someone who's never decided to have a motorcycle before that now gets inspired by this. And that's no different than the kinds of motorcycles we make today. We have 35,000 people to train every year, just in the United States learning through Harley-Davidson how to ride motorcycles. So and that's our existing product line. And we're already the number one seller of motorcycles to young adults in the United States." WOMAN ON ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE (SOUNDBITE) (English) MARK-HANS RICHER, HARLEY-DAVIDSON SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, SAYING: "It has to be right. It has to be a Harley-Davidson that just happens to be electric before we're going to do anything." MORE HARLEY-DAVIDSON ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF HARLEY-DAVIDSON DEALERSHIP
- Embargoed: 8th July 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Topics: Transport
- Reuters ID: LVA495RGO35RCNXJ5C52PH18KRX3
- Story Text: Harley-Davidson unveiled its first electric motorcycle in New York City on Monday (June 23).
Called the LiveWire, the motorcycle is still a work in progress.
As part of Project LiveWire, Harley-Davidson will take the electric motorcycle on the road. It will tour nearly 30 cities in the U.S. this year and will tour Europe next year. Harley-Davidson is offering consumers a chance to test drive the LiveWire and offer feedback. The feedback will help Harley-Davidson refine its electric motorcycle before putting it on the market. The LiveWire may not be in Harley-Davidson showrooms for years to come.
The LiveWire's first stop was a Harley-Davidson showroom in Lower Manhattan. Mark-Hans Richer, Harley-Davidson's Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer was the first to show off the sleek and virtually silent electric motorcycle.
"It's a Harley that happens to be electric. When you look at it, when you hear it, it may seem different but you'll also realize it's quite similar in the sense that it has emotion, it has character, it has attitude. And that's what Harley-Davidson has always been about and what will always be about, electric or otherwise. And we're not walking away from what we've been, we're just adding to it," said Richer.
Harley-Davidson's core consumer base has long been overwhelmingly white, male and middle-aged. But that so-called "baby boomer" cohort is growing at a low-single-digit rate. So in recent years, the company has aggressively courted non-core customers, such as young adults, women, African-American and Hispanic riders, and riders in international markets, with a variety of new designs.
Richer said it is too early to tell who will ultimately be the consumer for the LiveWire.
"This could be a lot of things and that's what we're going to learn. This could be someone's third motorcycle in their garage. This could be their first and primary motorcycle. It could be someone who's never decided to have a motorcycle before that now gets inspired by this. And that's no different than the kinds of motorcycles we make today," he said.
"We have 35,000 people to train every year, just in the United States learning through Harley-Davidson how to ride motorcycles. So and that's our existing product line. And we're already the number one seller of motorcycles to young adults in the United States," Richer added.
According to industry analysts, there is no current market for full-size electric motorcycles.
But Harley-Davidson, the successful pioneer of the loud, raw, edgy, gas-guzzling "hog" is taking a new route, with the belief that new consumers will get a charge out of its new electric motorcycle.
"It has to be right. It has to be a Harley-Davidson that just happens to be electric before we're going to do anything."
Until Harley-Davidson makes the decision to bring the LiveWire to market, no price information was offered. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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