Harley-Davidson is one of 11 manufacturers across the country that will receive a portion of $1.7 billion worth of federal Domestic Manufacturing Auto Conversion Grants.
Harley will get $89 million and use it to expand its 650,000-square-foot facility in York, Pennsylvania for EV motorcycle manufacturing. The company will incorporate new paint and assembly equipment, re-train more than 1,300 employees and hire 125 new workers.
The manufacturing process will incorporate components from two additional Harley-Davidson facilities, including electric powertrain units from Menomonee Falls and fabricated and painted bodywork from Tomahawk, Wisconsin.
"In coordination with its affiliate, LiveWire, Harley-Davidson will increase production of existing LiveWire EVs and begin commercially producing additional Harley-Davidson and LiveWire branded EVs," according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Energy, which awarded the grants. "Annual production will ramp up through 2033 and beyond. This growing EV portfolio will target a wide variety of end consumers and capitalize on the strength of the Harley-Davidson brand globally."
LiveWire is the publicly traded electric vehicle company spun off from Harley-Davidson. Harley maintains a 90% ownership stake in LiveWire.
Each Domestic Manufacturing Auto Conversion Grant will help “support the conversion of 11 shuttered or at-risk auto manufacturing and assembly factories across eight states” to manufacture EVs and their supply chain, according to the DOE.
In April, LiveWire announced
plans to consolidate its operations in Milwaukee. The company had been headquartered in Mountain View, California.
The company has been investing heavily in research and development of its electric motorcycles, spending $54 million in 2023.
For 2024, LiveWire is forecasting sales of 1,000 to 1,500 motorcycles. LiveWire is expecting an operating loss of $105 million to $115 million this year, a smaller loss from previous guidance of $115 million to $125 million.
