April 28, 2020
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The corona pandemic has further affected the already troubled US motorcycle icon Harley-Davidson. In the first quarter, profit collapsed compared to the same period last year by around 45 percent to $ 69.7 million (€ 64.2 million), as the company announced on Tuesday in Milwaukee. Revenue dropped a good 8 percent to $ 1.1 billion.
“Covid-19 has changed our business environment dramatically,” said the new Harley transition chief Jochen Zeitz. Sales suffered from closings and exit restrictions. The manufacturer had already withdrawn its annual forecast in March due to the great uncertainty surrounding the pandemic.
Although the profit was below expectations, the stock initially rose significantly before the stock market. Harley-Davidson announced “aggressive” measures to reduce costs in the crisis.
The company had big problems before the virus spread – it was already groaning under the US trade dispute with China and the EU, which led to high import tariffs on its products.
The long-established US company also suffers from an aging clientele and conflicts with supporters of US President Donald Trump. This had attacked Harley-Davidson because of production relocations abroad, which led to calls for boycotts. The company wants to appeal to younger buyer groups with e-motorcycles and thus find its way back on track – but so far it has not worked very well.
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