Potato, potato, potato… The iconic sound of Harley Davidson’s 45-degree v-twin engine, the same sound that Harley-Davidson once tried to trademark, will eventually fade into a memory—so says CEO Jochen Zeitz.

Harley-Davidson to become an all-electric brand

Zeitz, recently gave an interview to the architecture and design magazineDezeen, telling them that at some point, Harley-Davidson will be all-electric. This is a long-term transition, he said, not something that happens overnight. In that interview, Zeitz said that electrification is the next logical step in the evolution of the Harley brand, which was established 120 years ago. Zeitz is quoted as saying:

“If you look at the past 120 years, the company has always evolved, never stood still. Now, like the founders did at the time by trying to reinvent or invent something unique, that’s obviously something that we as a company brand need to do as well.”

“What we’re doing is celebrating our past but also evolving the brand at the same time. It’s a natural evolution that needed to happen.”– Jochen Zeitz to Dezeen

New customer focus

This is part of a plan to gain new customers, outside Harley-Davidson’s traditional market. Zeitz told Dezeen that the brand would be focusing on people who may not typically ride large motorcycles. They may not even ride motorcycles at all.

“I believe in big transformational change for iconic brands, which is what I’ve always done in my life.” We are targeting different consumer profiles – you have the traditional core customer, but you have a contemporary core customer, you have dreamers that aspire to ride or may just dream about the brand.– Jochen Zeitz to Dezeen

New riders or even non-riders

So under this strategy, Harley-Davidson’s future seems to cater to riders and people who want to be seen as riders. Catering to non-riders may be a good business strategy, but what does that business philosophy say about riders as a whole? Is image more important than riding?

But before the Harley faithful get all riled up, Harley’s move to motorcycle electrification will take time. Exactly how much is not clear, but Zeitz says the move may take decades.

“We are thinking: ‘how do we evolve if you think really long term’, as this will not be an overnight transition.”

“这需要几十年的时间,对吗?但是你也需要这个nk in decades rather than just thinking about what year and the short-termism that everyone is exposed to as a public company. We have to think about the transition, and preparing for that transition is why LiveWire was born.”– Jochen Zeitz to Dezeen

Zeitz’s suggestion that LiveWire was born to prepare for the transition to electric motorcycles is an interesting concept. If electric motorcycles are to become the mainstay of Harley-Davidson, what brand name will they take?

Are they Harleys or LiveWires?

Harley took great steps to spin out the LiveWire brand into a separate company. So when Harley-Davidson makes all of its motorcycles electrically powered, what brand name will they take? Will they still be called Harley-Davidsons, or will they be called LiveWires, with the Harley-Davidson name fading into the past?

Currently, there’s a lot of value in the Harley-Davidson brand; you’d think the company would want to keep that name alive. But if they continue introducing their new electric models as LiveWires, what then? As the internal combustion engine machines become less available or made illegal, how much value will the Harley-Davidson brand have?

Perhaps they will make Harley-Davidson the “premium” electric motorcycle brand, with LiveWire positioned as an entry-level brand for those “aspiring” to the more upscale Harley-Davidson brand. Basically, the opposite of Harley’s current strategy. But will the Harley faithful go for it?

The current crop of Harley faithful like their potatoes, but Jochen Zeitz apparently thinks that future riders may prefer to drink the electric motorcycle “whine.”