The introduction of the "ban on motorcycles" may have made many people have never had a motorcycle experience.
But now overseas, motorcycles have begun to tell new stories with a new look.
Recently, the US heavy-duty motorcycle giant Harley-Davidson (hereinafter referred to as "Harley") announced that its electric moto subsidiary LiveWire will be listed through SPAC backdoor listing, with the code of "LVW" as the code to land on the New York Stock Exchange.
According to the announcement, LiveWire plans to enter into this transaction with AEA-Bridges Impact Corp. (ABIC), which will bring LiveWire a net financing of $545 million, according to the agreement between the two parties, after the merger is completed, the company's valuation will reach $1.77 billion (about 11.3 billion yuan), Harley will hold 74% of the company's equity, ABIC's original shareholders will hold 17%, AbIC's founders and KYMCO (known as KwangYang Industries Co., Ltd., the largest motorcycle manufacturer in Taiwan) will each hold 4%.
When it comes to electric motorcycles, the picture in many people's minds may be Mavericks, Emma, and Yadi, but in fact, LiveWire's electric motorcycle is not the same thing, after all, it is derived from the Harley Gate that has been galloping for a hundred years, and it is a pure electric heavy-duty locomotive.
1
Centennial Halley
Harley is somewhat unfamiliar to young people who don't play cycling, but the motorcycle culture it has led has profoundly influenced generations.
Founded in 1903 by four young men, William S. Harley, Arthur Davidson, Walter Davidson, and William A. Davidson, Halley initially wanted to build an engine-powered motor vehicle, but after repeated design and improvement, the first bicycle-style motorcycle took shape.
The first Harley motorcycle, image source: network
Their factory was a small 14-square-meter wooden shed on 38th Street on the west side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with the words "Harley Motorcycle Company" scrawled on the door.
Image source: Network
The startup grew rapidly, the factory grew in size, and between 1905 and 1908, racers began to win a race on the company's motorcycle, and Harley rose to fame.
In 1909, the company introduced the first mass-produced V-type parallel bar engine, with a displacement of 810cc, 7 horsepower, and a top speed of 96 km/h, representing the highest level of motorcycle engines at that time, and in just a few years, the U.S. Police Department almost used Harley's motorcycle as a police car.
After the U.S. military joined the First World War, the Harley factory was ordered to produce combat vehicles for the U.S. military, and during the "First World War", the factory provided a total of 20,000 vehicles for the military; during World War II, the factory produced a total of 90,000 WLA military motorcycles into the battlefield.
Harley WLA military motorcycle, Image source: Network
After the war, Harley returned to the field and dominated the race for a long time, however, after Honda established a subsidiary in the United States in 1959, it took only 5 years to seize 80% of the motorcycle market share in the United States, and after 10 years of fruitless struggle, the defeated Harley merged with the American machinery foundry company AMF, and Harley retired as the chairman of the company.
By 1981, Harley decided to start saving himself, 13 original employees raised $81.5 million to sign a buyback agreement, in 1987, the company was officially listed on the American Stock Exchange, and the following year, it regained 54% of the U.S. motorcycle market sales, at that time, owning a Harley motorcycle bombing street was a pretty cool thing.
The market needs stories, ups and downs to climax, after experiencing the baptism of war, the Great Depression, and the invasion of "foreign enemies", this motorcycle enterprise that has influenced generations of people has finally survived, and until recent years, Harley has inevitably ushered in the darkest moment.
From 2017 to 2020, Harley's sales decreased year by year, with annual global sales falling from 242,000 units to 180,000 units, revenue in 2020 was $4.054 billion, down 24.38% year-on-year, and net profit for the same period was $1.298 million, down 99.69% year-on-year.
As Harley fans gradually grow old, the company began to face multiple crises, the grasp of new trends is its biggest pain point, failed to keep pace with the times so that the performance continues to be sluggish, century-old motorcycle companies urgently need to find new profit growth points.
2
Sales are not optimistic
Full horsepower and a roar that reverberated through the ears are the reasons for the fanaticism of motorcycle enthusiasts, and harley has been synonymous with motorcycles for a century.
The times are progressing, and the electrification of motorcycles is also the trend of the times, but can Halley after electric power still be related to Halley?
In June 2014, LiveWire publicly presented its electric motorcycle concept model to the media for the first time, and officially announced the first mass-produced electric motorcycle in 2019.
At present, the company's latest LiveWire One is on the market, and the pricing has been reduced from the initial close to $30,000 to $19,800.
The LiveWire One has a horsepower of up to 105 hp, an acceleration time of 3.5 seconds per 100 kilometers, a top speed of 177 kilometers per hour, a cruising range of about 235 kilometers in the city, and can be fully charged in 1 hour with fast charging.
LiveWire One acceleration time, image source: Network
The performance is still very interesting, but in terms of sound effects, compared to the traditional Harley roar, the LiveWire One only has the high-frequency sound of electromagnetic pulses.
As of 2021, liveWire One has only sold 387 units, but the company said that the launch of electric motorcycles is not to impact sales, but to promote and lead the future of electric motorcycles, and set a sales target for itself, planning to exceed 100,000 in 2026 and 190,000 in 2030.
3
Traditional motorcycles compete for the layout
In the context of global carbon neutrality, electric vehicles are eating away at the market share of fuel vehicles, and the motorcycle industry is also undergoing changes, and it is expected that within the next five years, electric motorcycles will replace 60% of traditional motorcycles.
Companies with a keen sense of smell have begun to actively pour into the track to seize opportunities, and traditional motorcycle companies such as Honda, BMW, and Kawasaki have all set foot in it.
Taking Honda as an example, as a global motorcycle giant, it plans to put three electric motorcycles and one high-performance electric motorcycle on the market by 2024.
In addition, domestic car companies Such as Wuling and Geely have also entered the layout of electric motorcycle business, and the mainland, as the world's largest consumer and producer of electric two-wheelers, has a huge imagination space for the electric motorcycle industry, and its development potential has become more prominent.
As of now, overseas Tesla as the representative, the domestic new energy vehicle companies represented by Wei Xiaoli have achieved good results, in the electrification and intelligence of the technology can be said to be accumulated, the industry is also looking forward to the electric motorcycle track can run out of some head brands, and liveWire born from Harley is more high hopes.
However, it is worth mentioning that similar to new energy vehicle companies, the higher cost of battery chips will also become a major problem plaguing electric motorcycle companies, in recent years, the global chip shortage is undoubtedly worse, not long ago, India's electric motorcycle unicorn Aura Electric was unable to deliver on time due to chip tightness.
It can be seen that the road to large-scale mass production of electric motorcycles is also slightly bumpy.
4
epilogue
Under the global electrification trend, electric motorcycles will drive to the next new blue ocean, and the track is expected to set off a gold rush.
Harley's century-old legend has profoundly affected several generations, but only with feelings can not continue to write a new chapter, only with the times can build a solid moat of the enterprise, and LiveWire, as the core key point of Harley's transformation, there are also many uncertainties in the track where competition is intensifying, and it will take time to highlight the siege and reproduce the glory.