Harley-Davidson’s CEO Exit Signals Deeper Troubles Ahead | Image Source: www.bloomberg.com
MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, April 8, 2025 – Harley-Davidson Inc. confirmed that its executive director Jochen Zeitz will retire in 2025, marking the end of a crucial five-year chapter and often turbulent for the prestigious American motorcycle manufacturer. The announcement, made on Tuesday, begins a leadership transition at a time when market challenges persist, consumer preferences change and economic conditions are uncertain.
Zeitz, who joined the company’s board of directors in 2007 and became CEO in May 2020, was tasked with relaunching the Harley brand. Starting from the reputation of revitalizing the German brand almost bankrupt Puma, Zeitz was considered a strategic thinker capable of turning engineering. However, while Harley’s stock had a modest gain of more than 11% under his watch, his broader renaissance remained in question – especially when juxtapose with the 77% increase in lung S; P 500 in the same period, according to Reuters.
What was Zeitz’ strategy to save Harley-Davidson?
In 2021, Zeitz presented the “Hardwire” plan: a five-year plan to move Harley-Davidson towards sustainable profitability. The project aimed to reconnect the brand with a younger and more diverse audience, particularly as its traditional home boom clientele aging out of the market. Key elements include product portfolio reductions to focus on high-level Touring and Cruiser models, undervalued global market exits, and investments in brand modernization, including the electrical segment.
“Jochen has done a good job of reducing Harley’s global footprint and reorienting the company to its major Touring bikes and cruisers,” said analyst Raymond James Joe Altobello, quoted by Reuters. But Zeitz’s strategy was found in the macroeconomic slides that no business plan could easily exceed, for example, rising interest rates, weakening discretionary spending and increasing popularity of lighter and more affordable motorcycles.
Why is Harley-Davidson fighting despite the restructuring?
The central problem with Harley-Davidson is not just internal mistakes, it is that the very essence of its brand disagrees with current market trends. Known for its bold and expensive big motorcycles, Harley is now out of range with consumers increasingly opting for compact and cost-effective alternatives. According to David MacGregor, Longbow’s research analyst, “The lack of final market demand appears to continue in the foreseeable future and has undermined the change plan and undermined the confidence of distributors and investors
In February, the company expects its revenues and motorcycles in 2025 to be flat or down to 5%, citing a decrease in discretionary purchases of large tickets. It is not just a temporary shock, it reflects a long-term trend. A young demography, charged with student debts and housing costs raised by the sky, does not see motorcycles as a priority, let alone luxury motorcycles with price labels well in five digits.
How did the shares work under Zeitz?
On the surface, Harley-Davidson’s performance under Zeitz was respectable. Actions have increased by more than 11% since they took the stand in 2020. But the low relative performance is evident compared to the 77% increase in Slamp; P 500 over the same period. According to Bloomberg, investors seem divided: while some Zeitz credit to stabilize a ship in shipwreck, others argue that the company has not really adapted to a changing landscape of the industry.
To make it clear, Zeitz could have slowed the bleeding, but he didn’t stop it. The company’s return to equity remained low, and its market share continued to slide, especially outside North America. And despite a dynamic cost reduction and strategic reduction, revenue growth remains difficult.
What is Harley’s future as a post-Zeitz?
Harley-Davidson’s board of directors has already begun to look for a new CEO, now an executive research firm to identify a successor. According to Bloomberg, this process has been in progress since the end of 2024, when Zeitz first expressed his intention to withdraw. Until a successor is found, Zeitz will continue to run the company.
Whoever enters the newspaper will inherit a mark at a crossroads. The successor faces several immediate challenges:
- Reviving stalled sales while maintaining profitability
- Modernizing the brand to appeal to Gen Z and Millennials
- Navigating geopolitical uncertainties, including a potential global trade war
- Reviving electric vehicle (EV) plans amid a more competitive and skeptical market
While Zeitz’s bases can offer a trampoline, the execution gap remains wide. According to the analysts cited by Yahoo Finance, significant progress can be “out of reach” unless bold innovation and strategic risk-taking become the core of the next chapter.
What’s next for Harley-Davidson’s EV ambitions?
One of the most ambitious but unrealistic components of Zeitz’s mandate was Harley’s push towards electric mobility. The LiveWire, Harley’s first electric motorcycle, received attention but fought with affordability and identity. Although it was released as a separate brand and even passed through a PSPC, LiveWire has not climbed significantly yet.
Electric vehicles are supposed to represent the future of transportation, but Harley’s problem is that his central brand story – outside, gas-powered freedom – does not exactly translate into battery packs and whisper walks. The new CEO will have to reimagin how to align Harley’s rebellious spirit with a carbon conscious future, or the risk of falling further behind more agile competitors in EV space.
Has Harley lost its cultural relevance?
This could be the most existential question of Harley-Davidson’s faces. Once an icon of American individualism, the identity of the Harley brand now feels more nostalgic than aspirational. The increase in the number of electric bicycles, urban mobility platforms and minimalist lifestyles has been removed from the attachment of a two-wheeled roaring beast designed for open roads.
Actually, Harley’s DNA can be what keeps him. Attempts to reinvent the brand have all too often been perceived as uncomfortable commitments, not attracting the faithful or winning over young customers. This tension, between honouring heritage and embracing change, is at the heart of Harley’s strategic dilemma.
“You cannot sell the rebellion in a world that is moving towards sustainability and minimalism,” said a former marketing director Harley who called for anonymity. “What is fresh today is not strong motors and leather jackets, it’s a silent innovation and goal-oriented brands.”
What does Wall Street want in Harley now?
Wall Street wants clarity and vision. According to analysts, the direction of flat or declining revenues by 2025 indicated that current strategies are hitting a wall. Investors are looking for the next CEO to bring not only operational discipline, but also new narrative and market alignment.
To do this, Harley’s advice will likely focus on a leader who includes not only manufacturing and distribution, but also branding in the digital age. This means a deep understanding of the consumer, a willingness to live and ideally a history of innovation in adjacent industries, perhaps even outside the traditional automotive sectors.
Harley’s next chapter will need a more fundamental element than corporate restructuring: the objective must be redefined. It is a high order, but without it, Harley risks becoming a relic of another era, rather than a reinvented force in modern mobility.
As Harley stimulates its engine for another strategic shift, the industry will monitor closely. After all, if an American icon like Harley-Davidson cannot evolve fast enough, what about the ability of inherited manufacturers to survive this age of transformation?
