Iron and 48 to get left in the cold
Word came in this morning that Harley-Davidson Australia will drop the affordable Iron 883 and 1200 models from their line-ups.
The Harley-Davidson 48, a much heralded and popular model when released a little over a decade ago at just over 16k ride-away, has seen some of that sheen wane over time and the 48 is also being dropped from the Australian and New-Zealand model line-ups.
Harley-Davidson has long been the biggest selling motorcycle brand in Australia, when it comes to sales numbers of road bikes. However, H-D has lost the #1 road mantle of late to Honda and while much of the market is currently booming, Harley recorded an eight per cent decline in sales during the first quarter of 2021, compared to 2020. In fact, Harley is the only brand to have recorded a sales decline in the first quarter of 2021, while the likes of Honda are up almost 50 per cent, and Indian’s sales are up by almost 60 per cent.
Harley’s Breakout, Street 500 and Sport Glide sales remain particularly strong and Milwaukee’s Touring line-up continues to dominate that segment of the Australian market. Thus Harley-Davidson sales remain strong, but just not as strong as has traditionally been the case.
As previously announced, the Street 500 is also being removed from the Australian line-up due to not meeting our local registration requirements in regards to ABS. The early removal of the Iron and 48 is not entirely unexpected as we await news of a new platform to essentially replace the aging Sportster range in the next year or two.
