Harley-Davidson boss speaks out on the future of LiveWire
New LiveWire model details revealed ahead of launch
Filings with the American equivalent of the DVSA have shown that LiveWire, the new Harley-Davidson electric spin off, will start with a bike known as the ‘One’. H-D announced that they would be launching an electric-only brand in July that will share existing Harley retail space, as well as creating some of its own with the idea of “focusing more on an urban customer”.
Speaking to American broadcaster CNBC, Harley CEO Jochen Zeitz said of the move: “It’s the best technology, it’s the best product, it’s a fantastic brand name, and we will be targeting a customer that I think is looking for this kind of product. And hence why we’re standing it up separately as a separate brand, but being part of the lineage of Harley-Davidson… All the values that, you know, made Harley great in terms of adventure, in terms of freedom, you know, freedom for the soul, as we say, are also values that very much translate into LiveWire, although, you know, translated towards a different, more urban customer.”
The documents also revealed that the new bike, codename LW1, will have a maximum power output of 101bhp,
‘It’s the best tech and it’s the best product’
which is the same as the 2021 version of the H-D LiveWire, suggesting the One is likely to only differ cosmetically. The full bike will be revealed on July 9. Other good news sits right on the horizon for H-D with the defusing of the EU-US trade war that had seen punitive tariffs placed on HarleyDavidson’s bikes. The trade war between the two had been steadily growing during the Trump presidency with H-D caught in the middle. Earlier this year it looked as if the tariffs would leap to 56%.
“It’s good that the trade tariffs didn’t escalate further,” added Zeitz. “And now I think there is definitely a sense that, you know, there’s no point in fighting over tariffs.”