Harley-Davidson released its 2016 Q4 numbers yesterday, and the results were a mixture of good and bad news.
First, the good news: Harley-Davidson saw decent sales growth (up 2 per cent, to 32,889 bikes)Â in the Asia/EMEA region, adding 40 new international dealers.
Closer to home the MoCo sold 10,203 motorcycles in Canada in 2016, good for a 5.5 per cent increase over 2015’s numbers.
Harley-Davidson’s net income was $47.2 million in 2016’s Q4, up from $42.2 million the previous year. And this is where the bad news starts; that net income came out of $1.11 billion in consolidated revenue in 2016’s Q4. That was down from $1.18 billion in 2015’s Q4.
Harley-Davidson saw overall motorcycle shipments drop by 1.6 per cent in 2016, at 262,221, from 2015’s 264,627 bikes shipped. The numbers were more grim in the US, Harley-Davidson’s largest market, which saw a 3.9 per cent drop, to 161,658 bikes moved in 2016.
However, Harley-Davidson also says it grew its market share in the US in 2016, and now with Victory gone, there’s even less competition. The Japanese cruiser market has hardly seen any life in it lately either; right now, Harley-Davidson’s only real competition there is Indian.
The showdown between the two brands will be interesting to watch going forward, as Harley-Davidson has less of an advantage over Indian, thanks to its history, and now Polaris is focused on one motorcycle brand, instead of two. But Harley-Davidson likely has the edge in international expansion; given the weakness of the North American market, that could be the key to winning this war.
Part of this seems to be fueled by leftover 2016 inventory on dealers’ floors. Once the deck is cleared it’ll likely be back to business as usual.
Who is going to want a 2016 when the 2017 has a better engine and handling. They will have to discount the 2016 big.