Market reports – Xavier Crepet (Harley-Davidson): the Touring family has experienced the greatest growth – Used HARLEY-DAVIDSON

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Xavier Crepet (Harley-Davidson): the Touring family has experienced the greatest growth

Market reports - Xavier Crepet (Harley-Davidson): the Touring family has experienced the greatest growth - Used HARLEY-DAVIDSON

With 8,068 registrations, Harley-Davidson posted an increase of + 3.1% on the French motorcycle market. Xavier Crepet, Marketing Director, establishes for Site the 2014 balance sheet of the American brand and reveals its objectives for 2015. Interview.

Site: What do you think of the general evolution of the French motorcycle market in 2014? ?
Xavier Crepet, Marketing and Communication Director of Harley-Davidson France: After several years of continuous decline, we are pleased to see a motorcycle market again and finally in the green (read our, Editor’s note). However, we must remain very cautious about this result and beware of any strong optimism. Indeed, the weather factor was exceptionally favorable throughout 2014 (no winter, mild throughout the year), unlike, and a motorcycle brand succeeded, through success two large-volume models, to pull the whole market up. Of the top ten brands on the market, only four are growing, including Harley-Davidson. We therefore cannot frankly say that growth is based on solid foundations..

MNC: What is your assessment of your brand? ?
X. C .: The results for Harley-Davidson are positive. After a two-year break, we are back at 3.3% growth and once again cross the symbolic bar of 8,000 new motorcycles. This volume is all the more satisfactory since it was done on models rather located in our high price range (more than 20,000 €), in particular on those which were completely renewed and extended during the last two years. It is this family that experienced the greatest growth among all the others in 2014, thanks to the renewal of numerous motorcycles by our customers, but also by the arrival of new customers attracted by this powerful and attractive range..

"We cannot honestly say that growth is based on solid foundations"

MNC: Which models have performed particularly well this year ?
X. C .: The and the XL48 are still the brand’s best sellers this year, both ranking in the top 50 French registrations. It is interesting to note that behind these two models of the Sportster family come the Dyna Street Bob as well as two Touring models, the Ultra Limited and the Street Glide, a sign that our 2014 volumes were well distributed over our range of 32 models. Finally, we can highlight the performance of the first full year which arrogates 22% of the three-wheeler market with a volume of around 200 sales..

MNC: Who are those who have stayed behind? Why ?
X. C .: Aside from the two aforementioned Sportster models which maintain a very good sales level, the rest of the Sportster range has experienced a slowdown where the novelty effect including the arrival of the 1200 CA and CB naturally fades. It is the same on models such as Fat Boy, Softail Heritage or Deluxe for similar reasons.

"Sports motorcycles have become inoperable on our roads and we can fear that insurance companies are freshly welcoming this measure in their pricing policy"

MNC: The French 100 horsepower law will end in 2016. Do you expect sales of powerful motorcycles to fall in 2015? ?
X. C .: This lifting of the 100 hp ban should on the contrary stimulate the sports machine market, but I still think that the effect will be limited because, if these motorcycles are real technological showcases for their brands and fulfill the objective of ‘image, they have become unusable on our roads and we can fear that insurance companies will welcome this measure in their pricing policy..

MNC: How has your dealer network evolved this year ?
X. C .: In 2014, the Harley-Davidson network continued its development by attending the opening of three new dealerships: Valenciennes (59), Le Havre (76) and Coignières (78). The network now has 52 concessions in total.

MNC: Did your new products for 2014 reach their commercial objectives? ?
X. C .: In 2014, we launched the entry-level model of the Touring family, the, a Street Bob special series, the, the Road Glide Special, the Limited Low and the. All of these models achieved the business goals we set for ourselves.

MNC: What was the pleasant surprise of your 2014? And the less good ?
X. C .: The entire Touring family has been very well received by customers and has seen new customers coming in. It is this family that has experienced the greatest growth with more than 30% compared to 2013. On the disappointment side, we would have liked a better welcome and start-up of the Street 750 which is a real novelty and opportunity for the brand..

MNC: In your opinion, what was the highlight of 2014 in the world of two-wheelers? ?
X. C .: The presentation of our electric motorcycle in June 2014, demonstrating the ability of our more than century-old brand to innovate, adapt to its environment and reinvent itself while remaining faithful to its DNA.

MNC: What are your good resolutions for the year 2015 ?
X. C .: We want to confirm our 2014 result by remaining above the 8,000 registrations mark despite the difficult economic context we are experiencing and the uncertainty regarding the weather. The probability of having an exceptional second year in this area is very low and could have a negative effect on dealership traffic and therefore our sales. On the network side, we plan to open a new dealership in the south of 77, bringing our official network to 53 points of sale during the year. Finally, from a communication point of view, we will continue to promote the Touring family which deserves to be discovered as well as the Dark Custom family which now consists of five models since the arrival of the Street 750 and a line of black label clothing.

"We want to stay above the 8,000 registrations mark in 2015 despite the difficult economic context"

MNC: What are your major events in 2015 ?
X. C .: The season of events will open with the Eurofestival from May 7 to 10, followed by the final of the Harley Poker Tour from June 5 to 7 in Messanges, Wheels and Waves in Biarritz from June 11 to 14, Sosh Freestyle Cup in Marseille from June 16 to 21, the American Tours Festival in Tours from July 3 to 5, the Harley Days in Morzine from July 11 to 14, and finally the motorcycle show at the end of the year. Regarding partnerships, we will participate among others in the Grand Prix d’Amerique on January 25 at the Vincennes racecourse and at the release of the film Avengers 2 Marvel where Harleys will be on screen again.

MNC: To conclude, what Harley-Davidson ordered from Santa Claus this year ?
X. C .: A return to growth, good household morale, good weather and many dreams to come true in the sale of motorcycles.

Interview by Matthieu BRETILLE

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