Harley-Davidson has released its Q2 2021 earnings report, and the results are a bit mixed for the American brand. Compared to 2020’s numbers, Harley-Davidson is showing some unsurprising gains.
As such, the North American market is up 43% compared to last year, while worldwide results bounced to a 24% gain over 2020’s figures.
The story is the same for the first six months of sales for the Bar & Shield brand, with North America up 38% compared to last year, and worldwide sales getting an 18% increase.
All of this is to be expected, of course, not only because sales were down across the board in 2020, but also because the motorcycle industry is booming in 2021. In this regard, the bar of measurement for the Bar & Shield brand is rather low.
Harley-Davidson Sales – 2021 vs. 2020
| Motorcycles (thousands) | 2nd quarter | 6 months | ||||
| 2021 | 2020 | Change | 2021 | 2020 | Change | |
| North America | 48.2 | 33.6 | 43% | 81.0 | 58.8 | 38% |
| EMEA | 10.2 | 11.0 | -7% | 15.2 | 18.7 | -19% |
| Asia Pacific | 6.0 | 6.9 | -13% | 11.8 | 12.6 | -7% |
| Latin America | 0.9 | 1.2 | -31% | 1.6 | 3.0 | -47% |
| Worldwide Total | 65.3 | 52.7 | 24% | 109.5 | 93.2 | 18% |
The true measure for sales in 2021 though is against those from 2019, before the pandemic turned the world upside down. When looking at Harley-Davidson’s results in this lens, this get a little less rosy, and bit more unclear.
To be fair, Harley-Davidson’s Q2 sales in the US have grown so far in 2021, when compared to 2019, but only by medium single digits. If this was the result of two regular years of sales growth, it would be considered stagnant by most accounts.
Abroad though, things get much worse, with all the other regions down by large double-digit amounts (-31% in Europe, for instance).
Harley-Davidson’s worldwide sales in Q2 2021 are down 9% compared to their pre-pandemic numbers.
The story is the same for the first six months’ figures, with modest gains in the USA accompanied by huge loses abroad. Compared to before pandemic, Harley-Davidson’s worldwide sales thus far are down 10% for the first six months of the year.
These results are surely a reflection of which markets are open, and which are not, with the US bouncing back quickly because of its vaccination efforts.
Harley-Davidson Sales – 2021 vs. 2019
| Motorcycles (thousands) | 2nd quarter | 6 months | ||||
| 2021 | 2019 | Change | 2021 | 2019 | Change | |
| North America | 48.2 | 46.0 | 5% | 81.0 | 76.1 | 6% |
| EMEA | 10.2 | 15.6 | -31% | 15.2 | 26.4 | -42% |
| Asia Pacific | 6.0 | 7.7 | -22% | 11.8 | 13.7 | -14% |
| Latin America | 0.9 | 2.5 | -64% | 1.6 | 4.8 | -67% |
| Worldwide Total | 65.3 | 71.8 | -9% | 109.5 | 121.0 | -10% |
To its credit, on the financials side, Harley-Davidson is showing good results in 2021. Revenue is up 7% in Q2, and up 12% for the first six months, when compared to 2019.
While sales continue to drop worldwide, it is perhaps comforting for Harley-Davidson’s shareholders that the company is still churning big dollar amounts on its accounting books.
With Pan America sales out-stripping supply, and the new Sportster S headed to dealers soon, Harley-Davidson has good prospects for the rest of the year, but will it be enough to signal a true righting of the ship? That remains to be seen.
Source: Harley-Davidson
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