Livewire

Although still owned by Harley-Davidson, the Livewire company has been spun off into its own stand-alone brand, replete with a stock exchange listing. The first Livewire debuted in 2014, and the public could ride them at dealers starting in 2015, though they are not yet for sale. Sales began in 2019, and while sales have been slow, the entire venture was a massive undertaking: America's most traditional motorcycle maker being the first major manufacturer to market with an electric motorcycle was quite remarkable.

In order to test the worldwide market, H-D used early product placement in the Marvel film The Avengers: Age of Ultron. It appears that the response was positive, as H-D continued with production. Livewire has hinted at the future with the new Del Mar model, which is built on a new modular platform called the Arrow and can be configured into a variety of motorcycle styles. The initial Livewire One model is still in production.

Importantly, the price is much lower than the One, which was criticized for being far too costly when it was first released. It will be interesting to see if Livewire as a brand can withstand the onslaught from every other big manufacturer as electric bikes become more common.

Founded: 2022

Website: https://www.livewire.com/