- The company had revealed electric scooter concepts in January
- It aims to compete e-scooter rental platforms such as Bird and Lime
- Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire is its first production electric bike
Harley-Davidson seems to be actively gearing up for the upcoming era of electric mobility. The company’s LiveWire concept turning into a production model was already a bold step. However, Harley stirred the market further by revealing concepts of an electric scooter and MTB (mountain bicycle) at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2019 in January. Interestingly now, a top honcho of Harley-Davidson revealed the company’s plans of entering into the business of e-scooter rental services, starting from the US.
In an interview, Marc McAllister, the vice president of product portfolio at Harley-Davidson revealed that they are focusing on giving a better experience as compared to Bird and Lime. These two are popular e-scooter sharing and rental platforms in the US. Both these companies offer light weight and low-range scooters on minutes basis to ply around the city. However, the American bikemaker claims that it can provide a more premium service as compared to these ride sharing companies.
Among the two concepts revealed at the CES 2019, Harley might use the commuter-styled scooter concept for its ride sharing and rental services, if it ever makes the move of entering into this sector. The electric scooter in question boasts a relaxed stance with tall, easy-to-reach handlebar, comfortable-looking seat and a long footboard. However, the production model could be a simpler version of this fancy concept.
There’s no revelation about when the company will start this new ride-sharing platform. Meanwhile, its first production electric motorcycle, the LiveWire is already available for pre-booking in the US and its deliveries are expected to begin by September 2019. Harley-Davidson is likely to bring the LiveWire in India as well, sometime by 2020.
Source – CNN
