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The
U.S. motorcycle maker, which closed its U.S. assembly plants in
March due to the coronavirus outbreak, may not ship any
additional new motorcycles this year to about 70% of its 698
dealers in the country, the report said.
Harley would reopen its plants in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and
accelerate production in phases that would be limited to
bestselling models and palette of colors and without
customizable features for the remainder of the year, the report
added.
The company has failed for years to increase sales in the United
States, its top market which accounts for more than half its
motorcycles sold. As its tattooed, baby-boomer consumer base
ages, the Milwaukee-based company is finding it challenging to
attract new customers.
To make matters worse, the pandemic has further dented demand as
Americans stay at home to curb the spread of COVID-19.
In April, the company's then acting Chief Executive Officer
Jochen Zeitz, who has since taken a permanent role at Harley,
told investors about plans to cut costs and "de-emphasize" some
of its unprofitable international regions.
Jochen and team are currently working on a new 5-year strategic
plan https://investor.harley-davidson.com/news-releases/news-release-details/harley-davidson-announces-first-quarter-2020-results-covid-19
to revive sales which the company plans to reveal in the
second-quarter earnings update.
The shift in strategy for the company that symbolized the
counterculture movement of the 1960s comes as it struggles to
woo the next generation of younger riders with its electric and
more nimbler bikes in the United States.
Harley did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for
comment.
(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera and Rachit Vats in Bengaluru; Editing
by Shinjini Ganguli)
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