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HARLEY-DAVIDSON GEARS-UP FOR EUROPEAN GROWTH Harley-Davidson rides into 2005 with a major package of initiatives designed to further strengthen the Motor Company’s presence and market share in Europe and the UK. With sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles in the UK alone raising 51% since 2001, and Buell, its sports bike division, sales achieving a massive growth of 102% in the same period, the legendary motorcycle manufacturer is now gearing-up to further accelerate the number of riders joining the Harley-Davidson family. John Russell, vice president and managing director of Harley-Davidson Europe, explains: “Since 1998 Harley-Davidson sales have grown by an overall total of 50% in Europe and during this period our efforts have focussed on establishing a unique lifestyle experience and community for our enthusiasts. “These foundations are firmly in place with 90,000 people enjoying the Harley Owners Group way of life and several hundred rallies taking place every year. Leading Harley-Davidson events in venues like Hamburg and Faaker See are now attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors a year and we have achieved quite exceptional levels of customer loyalty. The European H.O.G. rally will be returning to St. Tropez in 2005 and we look forward to welcoming tens of thousands of customers. “We’re now ideally placed for further growth and to aggressively attract new customers to the Harley-Davidson family. The start of this strategy is to highlight Harley-Davidson’s ability to deliver premium-quality motorcycles at even more accessible prices. A prestige, highly desirable brand that also offers even greater affordability is a powerful proposition.” Classic Harley-Davidson motorcycles including the Sportster XL883, as well as the newly launched XL883 Low, will spearhead Harley-Davidson’s ambitious growth plans. Sportster prices will be repositioned in 2005 to make them even more attractive and emphasize their value: “Around 70% of Sportster customers are new to Harley-Davidson and with the range attracting thousands of customers each and every year, the revised pricing structure will enable us to further underline the fact that this authentic V-twin motorcycle now delivers even greater market-leading levels of value,” added Russell. The ground-breaking V-Rod, which has attracted significant numbers of new customers to Harley-Davidson in Europe since going on sale in 2002, will become even more attractive to riders seeking exceptional levels of performance and custom cruiser style. “The V-Rod will be priced even more competitively in 2005 and this supports our objective of using this flagship motorcycle to introduce even more riders to the Harley-Davidson experience,” noted Russell. Harley-Davidson’s commitment to growth in Europe is emphasised by the recent establishment of wholly-owned subsidiary companies in Switzerland and Spain. Harley-Davidson now has subsidiary operations in 11 key European markets with official distributors and direct dealers in a further 14 territories. In the UK, resources are being significantly increased to further improve levels of service and care for customers through the UK dealership network. New dealer marketing initiatives will be implemented and there is a stronger emphasis on dealer training, retail environment and customer satisfaction. Mike Kennedy, managing director of Harley-Davidson UK said: “Our dealers are among some of the best in the world for Harley-Davidson. The commitment they continue to demonstrate in customer care, after-sales, improving their facilities and dedication to new customers is very impressive. By almost every measure the UK network is the best in Europe. Our dealerships are ambassadors for new and existing riders and we are all working together to ensure our current and forthcoming customers retain the special experience that comes from owning one of these legendary motorcycles.” Buell is poised for further rapid expansion after achieving record sales in the UK during the course of 2004, up 78.6% on 2003 alone. With the introduction of the Buell XB9SX CityX in September 2004 at £5,995, and great reviews on the motorcycle so far, expectations are high for that model alone. Pricing realignments for Harley-Davidson in 2005 are as follows: 2004 price (otr)
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