Harley-Davidson Reports Global Bike Sales Up 24 Percent In 2021 Q2

On July 21, 2021, Harley-Davidson reported its 2021 Q2 results. The numbers are definitely moving in the right direction, especially when compared to the same time period in 2020. Worldwide Harley motorcycle sales are up 24 percent, due entirely to an impressive sales rebound in North America.  

North American sales are up 43 percent year-on-year in Q2, which is the only positive number when broken down by sales region. Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (commonly referred to among some OEMs as “EMEA”) are down by 7 percent for the same time period. Asia Pacific sales are down 13 percent, and Latin America sales are down 31 percent.  

Taking the entirety of the first six months of 2021 into consideration, worldwide Harley-Davidson bike sales are up 18 percent—which is still good news for the embattled OEM. North American sales are up 38 percent, EMEA sales are down 19 percent, Asia Pacific sales are down 7 percent, and Latin America sales are down 47 percent.  

Harley had some explanations for some of the negative numbers, stressing that they’re all part of its overall strategy. EMEA Q2 retail sales, the Motor Company said, went down because Harley stopped sales of the Street and legacy Sportster models in the region. Meanwhile, Latin America sales were negatively impacted by a dealer reduction across the region, as well as “pricing actions across the portfolio, which were executed as part of the Rewire strategy.”  

Revenues for Q2 of 2021 are up 99 percent over the same period in 2020. That likely comes as particularly good news, since that contributes to a revenue increase of 45 percent over 2020 for the first six months of the year. While most of these numbers are still below those achieved in 2019, this is clearly the strongest showing since the pandemic became a factor. North American Q2 retail sales stand out as an exception, as those are actually up 5 percent over Q2 2019. 

Parts and Accessories sales are likewise up 32 percent for Q2 of 2021, and General Merchandise sales are up 47 percent. Overall, Harley says, it forecasts full-year 2021 motorcycle segment revenue growth to end up between 30 and 35 percent, year-on-year. Since that is just a forecast, we’ll have to see how that prediction pans out over the coming months. 

Harley-Davidson Reports Global Bike Sales Up 24 Percent In 2021 Q2
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