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Hero MotorCorp , following closure of Harley ' s Indian factory and ending of direct involvement there , has announced former Ducati India Managing Director Ravi Avalur as the head of the division that will handle its relationship with Harley- Davidson . Hero , originally established as a Honda joint venture , and the former owner of Buell , is the largest PTW manufacturer by unit volume in India and has taken over all 11 of the dealerships that Harley had in India . Hero is expected to start production of key Harley models in India shortly .

Following its AIMExpo Connect virtual trade show in January , MIC Events has released data that confirmed 86 exhibiting companies ; 12,949 virtual ' booth visits '; 677 products being shown ; 140 videos being watched ; some 51 ' Show Specials ' being available ; 389 education attendees and 680 total ' attendees ', including 318 retailers , 319 manufacturers and suppliers , and 41 media outlets .

PSB says that one of the " most beneficial aspects of the 2021 Powersports Business Online Learning Series is the ability to poll the live webinar audience in real time ." Attendees were asked how they would characterize their January and early February business performance relative to plan . Some 43 % of respondents said it had been " above plan ", 49 % " on plan " and only 8 % " below plan ."

As unlikely ( and unrealistic ) as it may seem , recent patent filings appear to suggest that H-D may be exploring the use of superchargers in stock builds again .

The advantages of Hydrogen as an alternate fuel have been well understood for decades . The prohibitive issues have remained the expensive , energy intensive production at anything short of huge scale and its subsequent storage under very , very high pressure . Now a German research team at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials ( IFAM ) in Dresden has come up with a product it is calling ' PowerPaste ' that acts as a Hydrogen storage medium - it sounds like a paste , it looks like a paste , it is a paste ! The researchers claim that it would be an excellent emissions elimination solution for motorcycles and scooters .

Harley-Davidson chairman , CEO and president Jochen Zeitz knew the job wasn ' t going to be an easy one when he took it - but nobody could have anticipated just what a ' Year of Years ' 2020 would turn out to be . " 2020 was an extraordinary year in many ways and our team navigated many challenges . We managed COVID- 19 impacts , kept our community well-being at the forefront , protected liquidity and delivered $ 250m in cash savings [ compared to planned 2020 full-year spending ]. " We also successfully overhauled the entire company through The Rewire , building a strong foundation to successfully implement our new 5-year strategic plan , The Hardwire . The entire Harley-Davidson team put forth tremendous effort in 2020 , and we now have the right organization , structure and strategy in place to make step changes in our performance and enhance our position as the most desirable motorcycle brand in the world ." Only time will tell whether Zeitz is now setting the company on the right track , whether it will prove to be too little too late , or whether , to channel Donald Rumsfeld , the " unknown unknowns " are still likely to bite Harley ' s ankles . Q4 revenue dropped 32 % to $ 725m , as motorcycle revenue fell 39 % to $ 531m ; motorcycle gross margin fell to 21.6 % from 25.2 %. The H-D stock price had improved by some + 21.5 % over a prior three

months during which the S & P 500 gained 14.0 %. However , the announcement of a loss sent Harley ' s shares into reverse . The company says it maintained sufficient cash and liquidity and that the overhaul and reset of the cost structure of the business through The Rewire actions has effectively lowered their cost base by approximately $ 115m . Cash and cash equivalents were $ 3.3bn at the end of the year , compared to $ 834m at the end of 2019 . Harley- Davidson generated $ 1.2bn of cash from operating activities in 2020 compared to $ 868m in 2019 . Consolidated revenue was down 32 % in and down 24 % for the full year over 2019 . " Bottom-line results reflect a loss for the quarter and nominal net income for the full year with Financial Services segment operating income offsetting Motorcycles and Related Products segment operating losses for the year . " Revenue from the Motorcycles and Related Products segment was down during Q4 primarily due to lower wholesale shipments versus prior year as the company continued its aggressive approach to supply and inventory management and reset the timing of delivery of new model year motorcycles . Q4 global retail motorcycle sales also reflected the impact of tight inventory and the model year shift ."

Income statements in THREE MONTHS ENDED TWELVE MONTHS ENDED $ 1,000s ( except share ) 2020 Q4 2019 Q4 2020 Q4 2019 Q4

12 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - MARCH 2021 www . AMDchampionship . com