LiveWire Group Inc., the new publicly traded electric motorcycle company spun off from Harley-Davidson, reported $47 million in revenue and 597 motorcycles sold for 2022. However, the company’s 2023 plans took a hit as it pushed back the timing of deliveries for its next model, the S2 Del Mar.
Most of the company’s revenue in 2022 came from sales of Stacyc electric balance bikes designed for kids. The Stacyc brand accounted for $33 million in revenue for the year, up from $26 million in 2021 behind the launch of 18- and 20-inch models.
Electric motorcycle revenue at LiveWire grew from $10 million to $14 million. Ryan Morrissey, president of LiveWire, noted the shipment of 597 units exceeded the company’s plan of 500 units.
The electric motorcycle business saw an operating loss of $89 million, up from a $70 million loss in 2021 as the company increased investment in product development and building out its distribution network. The Stacyc business did see an operating profit of $4 million, up from $2 million in 2021.
LiveWire is expecting to ship 750 to 2,000 motorcycles in 2023 and have an operating loss of $115 million to $125 million.
As recently as June, the company said it expected to ship more than 7,200 motorcycle units in 2023 as it launches its second electric bike, the S2 Del Mar. In May 2022, the company managed to sell out reservations of 100 special launch editions of the Del Mar in 18 minutes. The model was made available for reservation to the general public in September.
However, Morrissey said Thursday on the company’s earnings call with Harley-Davidson that based on pre-production builds of the Del Mar the initial deliveries of the bike had been pushed back from spring this year to the second half of the year.
The majority of LiveWire’s units were expected to come from the Del Mar this year, leading to the forecast cut from more than 7,200 to less than 2,000.
“The change in the timeline is what’s driving the change in the units,” Morrissey said.
Still, asked by analysts if the change in timeline would alter LiveWire’s longer term goals, which include more 15,700 bikes sold in 2024 and reaching profitability, and more than 100,000 bikes in 2026, Morrisey said there was no impact on the company’s vision or long-term priorities.
