Harley-Davidson creates new position dedicated to EVs from freeamfva's blog

Harley-Davidson creates new position dedicated to EVs

Automakers aren't the only ones looking to an era of electric vehicles this decade -- count motorcycles makers in, too. This past Wednesday, Harley-Davidson named its first Chief Electric Vehicle Officer, a newly created position to help implement the company's EV plans.To get more news about ebike, you can visit davincimotor.com official website.

Ryan Morrissey, previously of management consultancy Bain & Company, will take the new position having made a career out of working with OEMs to transition companies to EVs and more sustainable fleets. Harley-Davidson remains deep in a transitionary period after releasing its strategic turnaround plan called "The Hardwire." Through 2025, the motorcycle-maker won't only focus on profits, but will create a brand more focused on electric motorcycles.

This includes a division solely focused on zero-emissions bikes that will work to court what the company previously called "traditional nonriders." When Harley announced this new division, it certainly sounded like a lot of new research and development will happen there. Meanwhile, the company will open a new certified preowned program to bring more traditional riders into the brand.

Morrissey will clearly have an important role in the company moving forward. With the Livewire the brand's banner electric motorcycle right now, the new CEVO will hope he can guide Harley to a future full of the buzz the flagship bike created at launch.
When I recently spoke with Dennis Savic, founder of Savic Motorcycles, he explained to me that electric powertrains are still wildly expensive, even for large manufacturers because relatively few are being ordered/used, and the low volume leads to high prices. The good news is with so many companies popping up and technology rapidly improving, the prices for batteries and motors should start declining substantially not too far out from now.

As we discussed in our recent Auto Bahn story, emissions regulations are becoming tighter and tighter, and it’s becoming harder and harder for manufacturers to find ways of meeting these stringent standards without greatly sacrificing performance. The most current engines will keep officials content for the next half-decade or so (at best), it won’t be too long until firms start putting more and more of their eggs in the EV basket, and once these companies start figuring this out, they’ll start making moves sooner than later to prepare.

Zero Motorcycles sells up to 10,000 bikes per year and has a projected growth rate of 40% annually. That’s right on track with the in-depth analysis that lead to market research firm TechNavio’s projections that the electric moto sector is poised to grow by approximately 42% by the end of 2020. By 2025 the market is expected to have nearly doubled from where it stands today.