Harley-Davidson Sales Continue To Tumble in Q3 2024

Harley-Davidson has reported a substantial decrease in its third-quarter performance for 2024, with total revenue falling 26 per cent to $1.151 billion (i.e. ₹9,669 crore). However, this decline reflects a broader set of challenges that the motorcycle industry is facing in general.

Global motorcycle sales dropped 13 per cent compared to Q3 2023, with significant regional variations. While Latin America showed 4 per cent growth, North America declined 10 per cent, Europe/Middle East/Africa fell 23 per cent, and Asia-Pacific decreased 16 per cent. Motorcycle sales revenue experienced a sharp 40 per cent reduction to $616 million (₹5,179 crore) from $1.023 billion (₹8,576 crore) last year.

Harley-Davidson's motorcycle division reported operating income of $55 million (approximately ₹462 crore), down from $175 million (around ₹1,4713 crore) in 2023. Among all revenue streams, only apparel sales showed positive growth at 13 per cent.

Several factors contributed to these results, like rising interest rates, economic uncertainty and the lack of interest in premium motorcycles in general. Coupled with political uncertainty due to election year and the recent East Coast hurricanes have all played a huge contributing factor. 

Despite overall declines, some segments showed promise. The touring lineup saw a 10 per cent increase in sales and gained four percentage points in U.S. market share. Custom Vehicle Operations (CVO) models experienced double-digit growth, which was helped by an expanded lineup from two to four models.

LiveWire, the company's electric division, reported increased motorcycle sales (99 units vs. 50 in 2023) but deeper losses of $22.7 million, compared to $14.6 million last year. The losses were primarily driven by declining STACYC (Stacyc Stability Cycle)  balance bike sales, which fell from 7,231 to 3,442 units.

This performance aligns with industry-wide trends, as competitors like Polaris (Indian Motorcycle) reported similar declines, with North American retail sales down in high single digits across the industry. The above sales performance is worrying signs for Harley-Davidson as the market for premium bikes, especially cruiser bikes, has been falling over the past few years. What makes matters even more worse is the fact that the Pan America, its first ADV offering hasn’t been able to garner sales despite ADV segment witnessing positive sales.