Harley international sales +4.3% for second quarterHarley-Davidson’s second quarter 2016 worldwide retail motorcycle sales were down by -1.9 percent on weak domestic U.S. industry results.
Harley-Davidson retail motorcycle sales in the U.S. were down -5.2 percent compared to the year-ago quarter, with the overall U.S. industry down -8.6 percent for the same period - meaning that at 49.5 percent Harley managed to claw back 2.0 percentage points of market share in a down market compared to the second quarter in 2015.
International retail sales increased by +4.3 percent over the prior year quarter and by +4.4 percent for the first six months of 2016.
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| Harley-Davidson President and CEO Matt Levatich: “Our investments to grow product |
Given market softness in the U.S., the continued competitive environment and global economic uncertainty, the company is taking the precautionary step of lowering its full-year motorcycle shipment guidance, revising its forecast to ship 264,000 to 269,000 motorcycles to dealers worldwide in 2016, which is approximately between -1.0 percent and +1.0 percent from 2015. The company says this action is consistent with its long-standing commitment to manage supply in line with demand. The company had previously provided full-year shipment guidance of 269,000 to 274,000 motorcycles.
President and CEO Matt Levatich said that “while our investments to grow product awareness and ridership globally are beginning to take hold in a number of markets, current conditions in the U.S. and economic headwinds in other parts of the world combine to raise caution for us as we continue to focus our strategy to drive demand and deliver strong returns to shareholders”.
Retail sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) were up by +8.2 percent in the second quarter and +8.4 percent for the first six months. Asia Pacific retail sales were up by +0.8 percent in the quarter and up +3.4 percent for the first six months compared to 2015.
