Are the Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Particular Gross sales Claims True?
Harley-Davidson despatched out a press launch making the daring declare that the Pan America 1250 Particular is the best-selling adventure-touring motorbike in North America. Sadly, the press launch (included in full beneath) doesn’t present any particular information to again up the declare.
This isn’t the primary time Harley-Davidson has made such a declare. Jochen Zeitz, Harley-Davidson CEO, made the same assertion throughout the Q2 2021 earnings name on July 21, claiming the Pan America was “the primary promoting adventure-touring mannequin within the US within the month of Might and June”. At the moment’s press launch would recommend that the Pan America Particular’s gross sales in July and August continued that momentum, with Zeitz claiming to have bought out the complete 2021 allocation.
However is it true? That’s laborious to say for sure, however we’ll attempt our greatest to search out out.
The perfect supply of data that would verify or disprove Harley’s declare is the Bike Trade Council, a not-for-profit nationwide commerce affiliation that represents producers, retailers, distributors and different powersports-related companies. Many of the main motorbike producers are members, and several other have representatives on the MIC’s board of administrators. The MIC compiles gross sales information from its members, so it could be capable to inform if Harley-Davidson’s claims are true.
Sadly, although the MIC periodically releases some broad trade gross sales figures, it retains extra particular information a intently guarded secret. If we got entry to these figures, we’d even be honor-bound to not share it with the general public. The MIC can’t assist us discover out if the Pan America Particular actually is the top-selling ADV on the continent (and sure, the MIC does solely cowl the U.S., whereas Harley-Davidson’s claims embrace Canada. Harley-Davidson’s Canadian gross sales symbolize about 7{fd20af06ca976514e0a234e2ecb81f29bdda73a50e5e3608076ea5924b67475d} of its North American numbers, so for the aim of this train, we’re primarily going to deal with U.S. figures).
We will make some inferences although. For one, any producer who may have bought extra adventure-touring bikes than Harley-Davidson can be a member of the MIC and have entry to its numbers. If the Pan America Particular isn’t the top-selling journey bike, the true top-selling producer may simply cry foul. Harley-Davidson probably wouldn’t make such a daring declare until there was some aspect of fact to it.
Whereas the MIC’s information can’t assist us, Harley-Davidson’s Q2 outcomes do give us some clues. In response to its official quarterly report submitting to the U.S. Securities and Trade Fee (S.E.C.), Harley-Davidson shipped 4,048 adventure-touring bikes within the three months ended June 27, 2021. The Q2 cargo quantity displays worldwide shipments, however it’s in all probability protected to imagine that the majority of the deliveries had been to the U.S. We don’t, nonetheless, have a sign of what number of of these shipments had been Pan America Specials and what number of had been the bottom mannequin.
With regards to Harley-Davidson’s cited gross sales and market share information, we have now to acknowledge some asterisks. For one, Harley’s claims about gross sales and market share usually solely considers bikes with engine displacements bigger than 601cc. Smaller fashions just like the BMW G310GS, Kawasaki Versys-X 300 and KTM 390 Journey have carved their very own area of interest, however we don’t know if Harley-Davidson is acknowledging their gross sales figures.
One other caveat: Harley-Davidson usually solely mentions shipments to dealerships and never gross sales to clients. Within the case of the Pan America, nonetheless, in response to a report on Might 26 by the Milwaukee Enterprise Journal, dealerships in southeast Wisconsin are handing them over to clients virtually instantly, with some dealerships having ready lists.
The Enterprise Journal’s report is just for a small pattern dimension and is only a snapshot of the primary weeks of Pan America deliveries. If the reviews of deposits and ready lists are widespread, then it’s conceivable Harley-Davidson did ship near 4,000 Pan America fashions to clients by early July. Sadly, we don’t know what number of Pan America fashions had been shipped in July and August, however 4,000 fashions in a month and a half is sort of a feat. To offer perspective on that quantity, we will flip to an unlikely supply of gross sales figures: product recollects.
An Aug. 13, 2020 recall for leaking brake calipers lined 2,681 items of the 2019 BMW R 1250 GS within the U.S. that had been produced from Sept. 19, 2018 to March 13, 2020, or a interval of about 18 months. The recall additionally included 3,262 items of the R 1250 GS Journey within the U.S., all produced in a 16-month interval.
An April 30, 2021 KTM recall for a weak entrance brake return spring lined 3,707 items of the 790 Journey, together with the bottom mannequin, the R and the R Rally variants throughout mannequin years 2019 and 2020. This lined fashions bought within the U.S. that had been produced from Feb. 14, 2019 to Feb. 28, 2020, or just a little greater than 12 months.
In comparison with the GS, in all probability the definitive ADV available on the market, and the 790 Journey, a MOBO Bike of the 12 months winner, the Pan America’s numbers over a month and a half look fairly sturdy.
In different phrases, if solely half of the 4,048 fashions shipped in Q2 had been Specials delivered to shoppers in North America (and that’s probably a conservative estimate), it’s solely believable that the Harley-Davidson Pan America Particular was the top-selling adventure-touring mannequin on the continent since its launch. And that’s not even counting the final two months.
Whereas we will’t ensure in regards to the actual gross sales numbers for the PA Particular, or its opponents, there may be not sufficient proof to show Harley-Davidson’s declare false. From what proof we will collect, there could also be sufficient to think about it is likely to be true in spite of everything.
Start Press Launch
HARLEY-DAVIDSON PAN AMERICA™ 1250 SPECIAL BECOMES THE #1 SELLING ADVENTURE TOURING MOTORCYCLE IN NORTH AMERICA
Constructed to Endure, Designed to Discover, and Engineered for Journey
MILWAUKEE (August 30, 2021) – Since launching in February 2021, the Pan America™ 1250 Particular journey touring motorbike has taken the motorcycling world by storm. In creating the Pan America™, Harley-Davidson leveraged its cutting-edge design and engineering capabilities to create each the Pan America 1250 and Pan America 1250 Particular. At the moment, we’re happy to announce that the Pan America 1250 Particular has turn into the #1 promoting journey touring motorbike in North America.
Jochen Zeitz, Chairman, CEO and President, Harley-Davidson:
“Taking inspiration from our heritage, we wished to create a motorbike that redefined the journey touring class and most significantly was designed and inbuilt America. With the Pan America Particular now the #1 promoting ADV motorbike mannequin in North America, we focused a selective growth into journey touring as a part of the Hardwire Technique with the purpose to achieve new and present Harley-Davidson clients. Pan America is squarely constructed on our mission to ship a timeless pursuit of journey for our riders. Those that now personal or have examined one in all our Pan America’s completely love this bike – having bought out of our 2021 allocation, we’re enthusiastic about what the long run has in retailer for Pan America and for the Journey Touring class at Harley-Davidson.”
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