After several years of falling financial reports, Harley-Davidson has just posted surprising numbers that show the company is in a better position than analysts expected.
And that could be good news for the company’s highly anticipated electric motorcycle program.
According to a statement provided by Harley-Davidson yesterday, the company generated an adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.68 during Q1 of 2020.
That’s nearly double the EPS that analysts had expected.
Harley-Davidson has now also increased its expected growth in motorcycle revenue this year to 30-35%.
Harley had previously expected a growth of 20-25% this year, indicating that the company is outperforming its own original expectations.
Harley-Davidson’s stock price rose 9.85% yesterday on the positive figures.
The good news could also help accelerate H-D’s commitment to electric motorcycles, which were announced as a large component of the company’s new Hardwire five-year plan.
Harley-Davidson plans to focus on its heavyweight motorcycles and electric motorcycles as part of a two-pronged attack to generate increased revenue and revive the company after it has struggled in the last few years.
New CEO Jochen Zeitz announced the plan in February, along with the company’s intent to create an entire electric motorcycle division within Harley-Davidson to provide more agility in the development of its electric vehicles.
A new chief electric vehicle officer was also appointed in March, underscoring the motorcycle manufacturer’s commitment to electric vehicle development.
Harley-Davidson was one of the first legacy manufacturers to commit to the development of an electric motorcycle. The LiveWire project began in 2014, ultimately putting H-D’s first electric motorcycle on the road in 2019.
Harley-Davidson now claims it is the best-selling electric motorcycle in North America.
Thanks to its early start in the development of electric motorcycles, Harley-Davidson has a many-year head start over its competitors in the space. If H-D is able to capitalize on that advantage, it may give the company the edge it needs to rebuild its sales and revive the brand.
H-D has released design sketches and teased additional details about up to four more electric models, including lighter-weight electric motorcycles, electric dirt bikes and an interesting electric moped.
The LiveWire was expected to be joined by some of those models by next year, but the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench in the company’s plans.
Its own internal electric bicycle program was expected to debut in spring of 2020 but was also delayed by the pandemic.
The program’s future was placed in doubt, but the electric bikes were ultimately saved when Harley-Davidson decided to spin them off in a new e-bike company known as Serial One.
We had a chance to test the Harley-Davidson electric bicycles in Milwaukee at the company’s headquarters, and you can see that video below.
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Author: Micah Toll
Source: Electrek
