According to a US dealer survey carried by Wells Fargo Securities on behalf of investment clients, Harley-Davidson’s domestic retail sales increased by only three to four per cent during the fourth quarter of 2014, against a 12.5 per cent improvement in the same period of the previous year. Wells Fargo analyst Tim Conder described this data as “disappointing”.
Dealers had reported that Rushmore and Touring models were mainly responsible for quarterly growth, along with the revived Road Glide. But Conder noted that Harley’s failure to get sufficient shipments of its new smaller-capacity Street range into dealers during the key spring/summer season meant that it had missed the market for these entry-level customers. He also said that sales of Dyna Glide, Softail and Sportster models were struggling.