Harley-Davidson Electric Motorcycle Brand Is Going Public

Harley-Davidson is spinning off LiveWire — its electric motorcycle venture — into a separate firm.

CNN Business reported:

LiveWire will still be 74% owned by Harley-Davidson and its financial results will be reported along with Harley’s, but it will have its own stock trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “LVW.” The new company will go public in the first half of 2022 through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, according to Harley-Davidson. Taiwanese motorcycle company Kymco is also investing in the new company and will own a 17.3% share.

The spinoff gives LiveWire an enterprise valuation of nearly $1.8 billion. Harley-Davidson’s overall current market capitalization is about $5.8 billion.

LiveWire currently offers just one model, the $22,000 LiveWire One. The 100-horsepower bike has a range of 146 miles in low-speed urban riding and 70 miles in higher speed highway riding. Harley’s LiveWire electric motorcycle was first shown as a concept bike in 2014. It went on sale as a production model in 2019 but was frequently criticized for its high price at the time of about $30,000.

Harley-Davidson’s move comes as legacy automakers pour billions of dollars into designing and manufacturing electric vehicles. Volkswagen — which wants roughly 25% of sales to derive from electric cars within the next five years — is hiking its electric vehicle investment to $100 billion. Meanwhile, Toyota is building a $1.3 billion electric car battery plant in North Carolina.

The shift toward electric car manufacturing is largely driven by the Biden administration’s emphasis on the nascent industry. 

In October, President Biden argued that those traveling in electric vehicles can cross the United States on “a single tank of gas, figuratively speaking.” Likewise, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg asserted that the Build Back Better Act would guarantee that Americans “never have to worry about gas prices again.”

“The people who stand to benefit most from owning an EV,” Buttigieg commented, “are often rural residents who have the longest distances to drive, they burn the most gas, and underserved urban residents in areas where there are higher gas prices and lower-income. They would gain the most by having that vehicle. These are the very residents who have not always been connected to electric vehicles that are viewed as kind of a luxury item.”

Beyond firms willing to develop electric vehicles, the White House has been eager to support firms with unionized employees. 

A few months ago, President Biden hosted an electric vehicle summit attended by executives from General Motors and Ford. However, news outlets — and Tesla CEO Elon Musk himself — were apparently surprised when the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer was not invited to the event. 

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki hinted during a press briefing that Tesla’s lack of unionization played into the administration’s choice to exclude the firm.

“Well, we, of course, welcome the efforts of all automakers who recognize the potential of an electric vehicle future and support efforts that will help reach the president’s goal. And certainly, Tesla is one of those companies,” commented Psaki. “Today, it’s the three largest employers of the United Auto Workers, and the UAW president who will stand with President Biden as he announces his ambitious new target, but I would not expect this is the last time we talk about clean cars, the move toward electric vehicles, and we look forward to having a range of partners in that effort.”

When asked again if Tesla was snubbed because it is not unionized, Psaki said: “I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.”

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