With the spread of Covid-19 affecting motorcycle makers and markets around the world, Harley-Davidson (H-D) has not been spared a troubled start to 2020. The announcement of CEO Adam Levatich’s resignation and a consecutive five quarters of falling domestic and international sales as well as US government opposition to H-D’s overseas manufacturing did not signal an auspicious start to the year.
However, Jochen Zeitz, a member of H-D’s board and formerly from sports brand Puma and appointed acting CEO after Levatich’s resignation, has announced that most of H-D’s “More Roads” sales rejuvenation programme will be shelved. Dubbing the new plan “Rewire”, Zeitz said H-D would be rolling back most of the previous corporate programme and refocusing “to move forward with the highest potential elements of More Roads, but our strategy must be reassessed,” reports Business Insider.
“As a result of my observations and assessment, I’ve concluded that we need to take significant actions and rewire the company now in terms of priorities, execution, operating model and strategy to drive sustained profit and long term growth,” said Zeitz.
“We’re calling it “The Rewire” and it is our playbook for the next few months, leading to a new five-year strategic plan which we’ll share when visibility to the future returns,” Zeitz added. Right after the statement, the H-D board announced Zeitz’s appointment as CEO would be changed from temporary to permanent.
H-D’s plans for the future in an effort to bolster flagging sales, especially in its US home market, include the release of a streetfighter model called The Bronx and and an adventure touring motorcycle dubbed the Pan American. Its electric motorcycle offering, the Livewire – you can read the paultan.org Livewire First Ride here – has seen a less than electrifying take up from the market.
Wishing all the best to them.
While I like their motorcycles the same can’t be said to some of the owners.Not all but a few.There is the badge snobbery going on.
Harley is facing surmountable odds against them and they’re coming within USA itself.
First their government imposed tariff on imported steel and aluminium.
Secondly the government and their loyalist are against them on opening new manufacturing plants outside of USA.
These causes them to be unable to lower their prices which in turn one of the reason of their dwindling sales number.
They need a miracle and their loyalist are the one who are actually bringing the brand down whether they realised it or not.
Other brands have a wide range of model to choose from to a very wide range of riders which Harley doesn’t have.
Take BMW for instance I’m talking about the car division not motorrad..they use to built the ultimate driving machine for their fans.
But in the early 2000 BMW took a radical approach of appealing their models to everyone.
At first they were met with criticism from their fans but the sales figure said otherwise.Yes modern BMWs lost slightly of that ultimate driving machine slogan but they’re making profits.
Harley should learn from this and also other bike manufacturers.