Harley-Davidson to set up dedicated electric-motorcycle division by 2025

Harley-Davidson's shares took a nosedive after the American bike maker reported a surprise loss in the fourth quarter. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based firm announced an adjusted loss per share of 44 cents and its motorcycle shipments fell 48% in the quarter. Earlier this week, the company shares pared a drop as low as 22%, falling 19% to $32.52 which was recorded as the sharpest decline in almost a year.

Now Jochen Zeitz, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Harley-Davidson has announced a new recovery five-year plan for 2021 to 2025, called 'The Hardire'. The new plan lays down Harley-Davidson's goals and aims for low double-digit growth in earnings per share and “mid single-digit" growth in motorcycle revenue by 2025.

As a part of the new plan, the company plans to invest more heavily in its core heavyweight-bike segment and also set up a dedicated electric-motorcycle division. The company also calls for investing $190 million to $250 million annually, in part to develop electrification technology that lags behind Asian and European rivals.

In addition to that, Zeitz said that he would also pour new effort into increasing sales of parts and accessories and Harley-Davidson's official apparel range.

As per the company CEO, Harley-Davidson will work on a 70-20-10 construct, under which a 70% focus will be laid on its core segments, 20% on new segments and 10% on other opportunities including medium/small-displacement models.

Harley-Davidson is also planning to step into newer motorcycle segments including adventure touring. While the Bronx streetfighter has been given a miss, the Pan America ADV has been slated for launch soon.