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to 4,400 units, due largely to softening demand in China and Japan( down from 6,000) and were essentially flat in Latin America at 600 units. Only Europe( EMEA) showed a pulse at ' just '-2% down( 5,200 units from 5,300 in 2024)- though Harley also posted a historically low quarterly European market share of around 2 % from some 5 % in Q1 2024; Harley ' s European market share hasn ' t that low for some 20-30 years. It has to be acknowledged though that the European motorcycle market is still running at record or near record levels, certainly in 21st Century terms. First quarter global motorcycle shipments decreased by-33%, which was " mostly expected as dealer inventory reduction efforts remain ongoing " but also reflects the softer than expected demand environment. Global dealer inventory was down by-19% in Q1 with domestic US inventory down by-23% compared to QW1 2024. In terms of Q1 tariff impacts Harley said that additional Q1 tariff costs were incurred of $ 9m, but that they anticipate a $ 130- $ 175m headwind for 2025. Like all manufacturers the company is implementing mitigation measures as, where and when they can but that compared to historically much higher ' foreign component ' percentages, 75 % of all components purchasing and 100 % of all assembly of domestic models is now in the United States. Part of the Hardwire Strategy had been to seek substantial production savings and that although it will have taken a little longer than the intended 5-years, they will have achieved some $ 257m of production savings from 2022-2024 and anticipate a further $ 100m in each of 2025 and 2026. Indeed, this was not the only respect in which Zeitz was bullish about achievements relative to the ambitions outlined in Hardwire. He claimed that in stock market terms, including dividends and other mechanisms for returning shareholder value, " HOG outperformed peer group " competitors by 10 % in the past five years, 3 % in the past three years and by 7 % in 2024. This must primarily be a reference to Polaris, though as a much broader based powersports business it isn ' t a directly valid metric. During the first quarter, Harley repurchased $ 87m of shares( 3.4 million shares) on a discretionary basis. Addressing the rumours that Harley is looking at selling off its finance arm, in remarks to investors neither Jochen Zeitz or, separately, CFO and Commercial Operations President Jonathan Root didn ' t entirely rule it out. While there are no definitive plans to do so at present, they both made it clear that they were open to ideas. At LiveWire there was a modest improvement to report, in pure balance sheet movement terms at least. The operating loss ' improved ' by $ 9m or 32 % lower than the Q1 2024 loss. Consolidated operating income margin in the first quarter was 12 % relative to 15 % in the first quarter a year ago; Q1 operating loss was $ 20m. LiveWire revenue for the first quarter decreased by 42 %. The revenue decline was due to lower electric
Harley-Davidson Motor Company( HDMC) – Results
|
|
1st quarter |
|
$ in millions |
2025 |
2024 |
Change |
Motorcycle Shipments( thousands) |
38.6 |
57.7 |
-33 % |
Revenue |
$ 1,082 |
$ 1,476 |
-27 % |
Motorcycles |
$ 864 |
$ 1,222 |
-29 % |
Parts & Accessories |
$ 143 |
$ 166 |
-14 % |
Apparel |
$ 57 |
$ 64 |
-11 % |
Licensing |
$ 3 |
$ 9 |
-66 % |
Other |
$ 14 |
$ 15 |
-10 % |
Gross Margin |
29.1 % |
31.2 % |
-2.1 pts. |
Operating Income |
$ 116 |
$ 238 |
-51 % |
Operating Margin |
10.8 % |
16.2 % |
-5.4 pts. |
Harley-Davidson Retail Motorcycle Sales
|
|
1st quarter |
|
Motorcycles( thousands) |
2025 |
2024 |
Change |
North America |
20.9 |
27.5 |
-24 % |
EMEA |
5.2 |
5.3 |
-2 % |
Asia Pacific |
4.4 |
6.0 |
-28 % |
Latin America |
0.6 |
0.6 |
-6 % |
Worldwide Total |
31.0 |
39.4 |
-21 % |
LiveWire – Results
|
|
1st quarter |
|
$ in millions |
2024 |
2023 |
Change |
Electric Motorcycle Unit Sales |
33 |
117 |
-72 % |
Revenue |
$ 3 |
$ 5 |
-42 % |
Operating Loss |
($ 20) |
($ 29) |
32 % |
motorcycle unit sales( Q1 LiveWire unit sales were just 33 machines, compared to 117 in Q1 2024) and lower STACYC electric bike sales. It became apparent that Harley would no longer give LiveWire an open checkbook. Zeitz confirmed that Harley would now actively seek external capital for LiveWire, if and when needed. He was clear that Harley itself would not provide LiveWire with additional investment above or beyond the presently agreed and in-place line of credit of up to $ 100m. He also projected 2025 LiveWire losses of $ 59m.