Photo: Harley-Davidson
The first mass-produced electric motorcycle of an established carmaker, the Harley-Davidson LiveWire, has hit its first snag this week. According to the company’s representatives, an issue in the charging mechanism of the bike has caused a stoppage in production and deliveries.
In an emailed statement to CNBC, Harley admitted the problem but pointed out the halt in production is just temporary, and the issue will eventually be fixed. No exact details on the problem or on the time it will take to remedy it was provided.
“We recently discovered a non-standard condition during a final quality check; stopped production and deliveries; and began additional testing and analysis, which is progressing well,” the statement to CNBC reads.
“We are in close contact with our LiveWire dealers and customers and have assured them they can continue to ride LiveWire motorcycles. As usual, we’re keeping high quality as our top priority.”
The LiveWire is a pivotal product for a company that is trying to gain 1 million new riders by the end of the next decade. As announced earlier in September, the company set a target to have a total of 4 million riders in the U.S. alone by 2027, way up from the 3 million that chose the brand in 2017.
Introduced earlier this year, the LiveWire is the first of a line of electric bikes and other new machines that will be used in the coming years to achieve that goal.
Deliveries of the bike had already begun earlier this summer, complete with free charging of 500 kWh over two years thanks to a deal Harley struck with Electrify America.
The LiveWire sells from $29,799 and it offers a range of 95 miles (152 km) per charge and 0 to 60 mph acceleration of under 3.5 seconds.
It is seen as the most connected Harley motorcycle in history, and the first North American mass-market cellular-connected electric motorcycle.
“We recently discovered a non-standard condition during a final quality check; stopped production and deliveries; and began additional testing and analysis, which is progressing well,” the statement to CNBC reads.
“We are in close contact with our LiveWire dealers and customers and have assured them they can continue to ride LiveWire motorcycles. As usual, we’re keeping high quality as our top priority.”
The LiveWire is a pivotal product for a company that is trying to gain 1 million new riders by the end of the next decade. As announced earlier in September, the company set a target to have a total of 4 million riders in the U.S. alone by 2027, way up from the 3 million that chose the brand in 2017.
Introduced earlier this year, the LiveWire is the first of a line of electric bikes and other new machines that will be used in the coming years to achieve that goal.
Deliveries of the bike had already begun earlier this summer, complete with free charging of 500 kWh over two years thanks to a deal Harley struck with Electrify America.
The LiveWire sells from $29,799 and it offers a range of 95 miles (152 km) per charge and 0 to 60 mph acceleration of under 3.5 seconds.
It is seen as the most connected Harley motorcycle in history, and the first North American mass-market cellular-connected electric motorcycle.
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