Jochen Zeitz rang the opening bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange this morning, marking the start of trading and the official listing of LiveWire on the NYSE. The all-electric motorcycle company formed by Harley-Davidson will now be traded on the NYSE under the LVWR ticker.
If you’ve been dismayed at the dearth of electric motorcycle companies available for adding to your EV investment portfolio, then fret no more.
LiveWire’s listing marks the first time an all-electric motorcycle company has gone public in the US.
As CEO of LiveWire (and CEO of Harley-Davidson) Jochen Zeitz explained:
This transaction represents a proud and exciting milestone for LiveWire towards its ambition to become the most desirable electric motorcycle brand in the world. We believe LiveWire is well positioned to define the two-wheel EV market, and we’re excited about the future – in celebration of our listing today, we’re pleased to open reservations for the production version of the S2 Del Mar for the U.S. market.
The occasion marked the culmination of a SPAC deal that we first reported on late last year.
At the time, we learned that the deal included funding of $400 million in cash held by AEA-Bridges Impact Corp, a $100 million investment from Harley-Davidson, and a $100 million investment from KYMCO through a private investment in public equity (PIPE) deal.
The move could have two major implications for LiveWire: a significant funding round as well as officially bringing in KYMCO as a major partner. While the Taiwanese motorcycle company will become a minority shareholder as part of the deal, both LiveWire and KYMCO could benefit greatly from an anticipated manufacturing partnership.
LiveWire just reopened reservations this morning for the brand’s highly anticipated second model, the LiveWire S2 Del Mar. Initially aiming for a retail of $15,000, recent market pressures have pushed the debut price to $16,999. With the potential for KYMCO to help LiveWire significantly reduce production costs, future electric motorcycle models could enter the market at more attractive prices.
Many riders aren’t waiting for lower prices though, and the first round of 100 Launch Edition Del Mar electric motorcycles sold out in 18 minutes earlier this summer, even with their higher $17,699 prices.
The individually numbered bikes featured limited edition colorways and could become collector’s items in the future.
I recently had the chance to take a production prototype LiveWire S2 Del Mar electric motorcycle on a test ride along with the LiveWire team, where I was able to experience the bike’s performance and handling during city and highway riding.
You can see my thoughts and test ride experience in the video below, but the takeaway is that the bike packs in much higher performance than I was expecting. The early numbers prove it, with the LiveWire S2 Del Mar touting a 0-60 mph time of just 3.1 seconds.
The biggest questions regarding the bike remain related to the battery capacity.
While we don’t have exact battery specs yet, we know the Del Mar will feature Level 2 recharging of 20-80% in 75 minutes and will have a city range of 110 miles (177 km).
My testing found that with a combination of city and fast highway riding, I had an extrapolated range of around 73 miles (117 km).
Thus, the LiveWire S2 Del Mar appears best suited as an urban-centric bike that is still capable of fast and thrilling highway jaunts.
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