H-D Livewire Pricing Announced
Harley-Davidson has announced preliminary pricing and specifications for their first production electric motorcycle, the Livewire, and it’s going to be expensive.
2019 Harley-Davidson Livewire
According to Harley-Davidson, the Livewire will start at $29,799, have about 110 miles of range, and will be available in August 2019. Let’s put that into perspective by taking a look at a close competitor.
2019 Zero SR
The 2019 Zero SR has a stated range of 223 miles city, 112 miles highway. Unlike the Livewire it supports Level 2 charging, yielding an effective charge rate of up to 85 miles per hour. The starting price is $16,495, about half the price of the Livewire.
Harley is, of course, no stranger to premium pricing. For similar money they will be happy to sell you a 2019 Ultra Limited, a fully loaded touring bike. This seems easier to justify in the sense that you’re not just buying an extremely nice motorcycle, you’re also buying access to a lifestyle of traveling the country in absolute comfort but still open to the elements and scenery. You’re also buying a connection, if you want it, to what is generally a warm and friendly social group of fellow enthusiasts.
Although I’m sure somebody will, you can’t really tour on a Livewire. It’s for short rides through and near the city and I have no doubt that it will be great at that, and with superb build quality. But who is going to buy it?
Traditional Harley riders are unlikely to be interested for lots of reasons aside from the expense. They like cruisers, they like loud engines, and they’re not particularly interested in electric vehicles. In contrast, the non-traditional, younger riders that Harley needs to attract in the long run might be interested in theory but can’t possibly pay the price Harley is asking.
I can’t help but think Harley’s management team is setting a very high price expecting that people will pay a premium for the Harley name. In reality, the potential customers most likely to want a Livewire are young, early career people who would never otherwise consider buying a Harley and, to be frank, probably need to be coaxed into dealerships with a very attractive price. The Zero SR is a very large financial reach for these customers; the Livewire is impossibly expensive for what is, frankly, a toy.
The bottom line is that at $30,000, about double that of its nearest competitor, the Livewire is probably going to sell in tiny numbers. Hopefully this won’t dissuade the motor company from continuing to reinvent itself for a new generation of customers with significantly different values and incomes than their increasingly elderly traditional customer base.
