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20 million dollars. It is what It has cost Harley-Davidson The experiment of offering an electrical alternative to its classic custom motorcycles. Livewire, the brand that created by and to offer a different path to that of combustion motorcycles, has only managed to sell 33 motorcycles in the first quarter of 2025, 72% less compared to last year.
A Lousimo Year Start. In the first quarter of 2025 Harley-Davidson sold 38,000 motorcycles. In the same period, he sold 33 Livewire. In the case of its electric motorcycle division it is a 72%drop, although 2024 was not a good year: they sold 117 Livewire compared to 57,000 Harley-Davidson.
The company itself recounts in its account report that there is no demand for electric motorcycles, and that losses in this division amount to 20 million dollars.
What Livewire offers. The world of motorcycles is passionate, even more so if it fits in the case of buying a Harley. They are faces, little efficient and with dynamic qualities at least debatable. Even so, they fall in love with thousands of users worldwide for their aesthetics, thunderous sound and quiet travel philosophy.
It is not something they have managed to convey with Livewire. Although its slogan is that of “Electric motorcycles with soul”the reality is that the state of the electric motorcycle beyond the urban scooter, is gloomy.
Models such as Alpeist S2 have a price of 19,148 and an official 194km autonomy in city, just over 100km on open road. Figures that make practically impossible to bet on one of these motorcycles to the minimum that we want to leave with them.
Harley is not alone in this desert. Ego, one of the pioneers in electric motorcycles and the main protagonist of the Moto E category (the electric GP motorcycle), announced its bankruptcy in October 2024.
Pioneer marks such as Zero, with barbarities such as SR/S (a motorcycle with 275km autonomy, recharges in an hour and a tip of 200 km/h), are sold in Spain for 23,790 euros. They are especially high prices compared to any of their combustion alternatives, practically double.
The passionate element. The electrification in the car is inevitable: it is, for the most part, a utensil to move from point A of point B (a separate question is how much we want to spend on it and how fans we are of motor racing). But, on the road motorcycle, the thing changes.
The only rational motorcycle is the scooter. Everything else is the result of passion for motorcycling, weekend routes and, on a great extent, sound. According to Anesdor data, as of April 2025, the electric motorcycle is 4% of the Spanish Total Spanish Park, completely starring scooters (both particularly and, mainly, rental fleets).
The future of the motorcycle. Motorcycles, due to their low displacement, are usually much less polluting vehicles with respect to cars. It is something that will increase even more with the new regulations, Much stricter in noise and emissions. Associations such as Anesdor fight for a legal framework in which the motorcycle is protected and can function as a sustainable mobility alternative.
The surcharge of electric motorcycles is especially notable, with products that double the price at their combustion alternatives even in the simplest models. If we add that, with current technology, The autonomy is around 100kmthis segment is especially difficult to open hollow.
Image | Xataka
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