As Indian Motorcycle launched its political-style aggressive advertising campaign against its main rival, Harley-Davidson, and then stepped up its criticism on the company in a carefully worded statement. ride separatelyHarley’s stock has only gone up.
The stock price, which is up about 6% — Indian Motorcycle is not currently a publicly traded company, as its acquisition by Carrollwood LP spun it off from Polaris — last week, comes not only after a social media campaign in which Indian Motorcycle lambasted Harley-Davidson for its prior DEI initiatives, adoption of electric motorcycles, the brand’s offshore manufacturing and CEO choice, but also after Harley made several comments to investors and the public. News was also announced. Will probably be seen as a positivity.
New motorcycles, the return of favorites, manufacturing switchups, reinvestment in its dealerships, and more have affected Harley’s rally, as well as the public’s perception of the iconic motorcycle company from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Furthermore, although the Indian appears to be continuing its offensive campaign, and its spokespersons are responding to similar ride separately According to information obtained by other outlets a few days ago, Harley’s top executives have decided to let the company’s choices speak for themselves. Instead of going after Indians for its own DEI program, offshore manufacturing and corporate issues, the motor company is giving in to Don Draper, “I don’t think about you at all“.
Another potential help in the rise of its stock.
The stock’s rally in recent days comes with the motor company announcing the return of the Sportster as well as an upcoming new entry-level motorcycle – something the brand has needed for years to balance its aging demographics and the current economy. There’s also the return of the iconic Super Glide, which has just debuted.
LiveWire, the EV arm of Harley-Davidson, which has failed to turn a profit since its launch and has managed to sell only a few thousand motorcycles since then, has also acquired EV dirt bike startup Dust Moto. This acquisition is aimed at satisfying the EV dirt bike market that appeals to the youth and possibly the brand that needs something else to survive.
Harley is also reinvesting in its relationships with dealerships after years of struggle. And, most importantly, it’s bringing manufacturing of the brand’s Revolution Max engines back to the United States after having them produced for years in Thailand. After which US President Donald J. Trump and his White House staff also caught sight of him.
After Harley’s announcement, Social media channels of each government entity announced“Victory for American manufacturing! Harley-Davidson is bringing production of some models back to the US. More American jobs. More American manufacturing. More bikes made in America.” It was another coup for Harley-Davidson after years of enduring President Trump’s ire due to the brand’s outspoken views against Thai manufacturing and his tariff policies.
Harley’s own dealerships are also supporting the company and new CEO Artie Starrs. in a letter sent to ride separately From Harley-Davidson Council of the National Powersports Dealers AssociationThe group pledged to support Starrs and Harley through Indian’s campaign, saying, “Based on our direct conversations and experiences, the NPDA Harley-Davidson Council supports the leadership of Artie Starrs, President and CEO of Harley-Davidson. Since assuming the leadership of Harley-Davidson, Mr. Starrs has worked to strengthen relationships with dealers, improve communications, listen to dealer concerns, and improve the overall performance of Harley-Davidson Motor Company. Has demonstrated a clear commitment to aligning the interests of its dealer network.”
As far as Harley-Davidson is concerned, the brand recently revealed wall street journal Its “sole agenda is to get back to basics”, regarding which it is not responding to Indian, keeping aside the tit-for-tat company battle between the two.
However, the Indians are not backing down.
A company spokesperson said The Journal“We’re not afraid to say that we believe Indians make better motorcycles, and we’re not afraid to say that Indians are closer to the riders and values that have built American motorcycles.” That line of “riders and the values that built American motorcycling” is interesting, as it mirrors statements included in the original political-style attack campaign launched by the brand earlier this week. It also echoes the given statement ride separately After public reaction.
Comments on ride separately And elsewhere, and even on Indian’s own social media, the ad campaign has been found divisive, with many saying that Indian should focus on building better bikes than its rival instead of throwing stones. Indian motorcycles were also highlighted in many comments DEI initiatives’ own historyIt’s flings with Eevee, international manufacturingThe failure of Victory Motorcycles, and the 60-year gap between its death in 1953 and its acquisition and resumption of production by Polaris in 2011.
All of the same, if not identical, issues that Indian raised in its attacks against Harley.
