NOW
IN OUR
™
27 EA th
R
Y
T H E L E A D I N G B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E F O R T H E I N T E R N AT I O N A L C U S T O M M O T O R C Y C L E A N D PA RT S I N D U S T RY
2018 Domestic US Harley Sales
-10.2%, Lowest Since 1998
o doubt in an effort to
distract attention from
a disappointing 2018
full year, and an
especially bad final quarter, one
that saw the company
undershoot its 4Q and original
2018 forecasts, Harley-Davidson
sought to focus on the limited
positives, the value it says it is
continuing to return to
shareholders
and
the
“milestones” it says it has
already met in pursuit of its
‘More Roads’ strategy document
when reporting their 4Q and
2018 FY (January 29th, 2019).
In reality, the headline news was of
worldwide retail sales of Harley-
Davidson units down by -6.1%
(228,051 units), the lowest since 2010
(the only year that has been lower since
2001), with 4Q at -6.7% (39,311
units).
International retail sales were flat for
the year at +0.4% (95,183 units) and
have been essentially flat for five years,
but with domestic 2018 retail sales
down to 132,868 units (-10.2%), their
lowest since 1998, international sales
were 41.74% of the total (as Harley
N
continues to pursue a 50/50
international/domestic sales split).
In other news, President and CEO Matt
Levatich has now confirmed that, as
widely trailed, production of models for
Europe and selected other international
markets (such as China and the ASEAN
markets) will be based out of the new
Thailand plant that came on stream in
3Q 2018 (capacity expansion is already
underway there).
Levatich said that “in 2018 we
we met our
'More Roads'
milestones
delivered value to our shareholders
through improved earnings and cash
from operations. The challenges we
experienced during the year reinforced
the commitment we have for our ‘More
Roads to Harley-Davidson’ accelerated
plan for growth. Our plan addresses the
challenges of today and the
opportunities we see for growth ahead,
and we are energized by the
momentum we are building. New and
different people, riders and non-riders,
are taking notice of Harley-Davidson
and the thrill of riding.”
On a full-year basis, the U.S. 601+cc
industry was down -8.7 percent and
Harley-Davidson held market share of
49.7 percent. Harley-Davidson’s full-
year Europe market share was up +0.5
percentage points to 10.3 percent.
Revenue from the Motorcycles segment
was down in the fourth quarter, but up
for the full year compared to 2017.
Operating margin as a percent of
revenue decreased in the quarter due to
restructuring charges, incremental
tariffs and higher recall costs.
Motorcycles and Related Products
segment (Motorcycles segment)
revenue grew +1.1 percent compared
to 2017.
“During 2018 we met or exceeded all
of the ‘More Roads’ plan milestones we
set out to achieve. In the U.S., we
finished the year with 52,000 more
Harley-Davidson riders than one year
ago. The groundwork for an exciting
future is being built in real time, and
that’s clear for riders today and Harley-
Davidson riders of tomorrow. We are
igniting a cultural movement for
Continues on page 6 >>>
Tim Dixon of Gas Axe Chop Shop fame scooped the $10,000 top
prize and ‘King of the Builders’ title at the Chicago championship
round of the J&P Cycles UBCBS competitions which had been
staged at the seven rounds of the 2018-2019 IMS series
MAR 2019
ISSUE #236
Hugh Charvat
INTERVIEW
TUCKER SHOW