从一开始，电动摩托车制造商 LiveWire 就难以找到自己的定位。
From the start, electric motorcycle maker LiveWire has struggled to find its lane.
2014 年，它作为哈雷戴维森一款未来感十足、备受瞩目的车型首次亮相，而哈雷戴维森最为人所知的是制造轰鸣的燃油摩托车。五年后该车终于上市时，评论界赞誉有加。LiveWire 在其首个投资者日上预测，到 2026 年将实现年销量超过 10 万辆。然而到今年年中，它仅交付了 358 辆。
It made its first appearance in 2014 as a futuristic, much-hyped model from Harley-Davidson, best known for making bikes with roaring gas-powered engines. When it finally went on sale five years later, the reviews were rapturous. LiveWire predicted at its first investor day that it would sell more than 100,000 motorcycles annually by 2026. By the middle of this year, it shipped only 358.
这些困境在周一达到高潮，当时 LiveWire 宣布，在首席执行官 Karim Donnez 上周辞职后，一个特别重组委员会正在权衡公司的各种选项。该委员会任命安库拉咨询集团高级董事总经理 Roy Gallagher 担任公司首席重组官。
Those struggles came to a head on Monday when LiveWire announced that a special restructuring committee is weighing the company’s options following the resignation of Chief Executive Karim Donnez last week. The committee appointed Roy Gallagher, senior managing director of Ankura Consulting Group, to be the company’s chief restructuring officer.
公司表示，这些举措“旨在促进对我们战略备选方案的全面评估”。LiveWire 股价周一收盘上涨 2%，但自今年年初以来已下跌 62%。
The company said the moves are “intended to facilitate a comprehensive evaluation of our strategic alternatives.”LiveWire shares closed up 2% Monday, though they are down 62% since the start of the year.
北海研究分析师 John Healy 表示：“我认为这真的是经济现实的体现。这是一个很棒的概念，但可能目前还不适合大众市场。”一度，LiveWire 被寄望于将老牌哈雷戴维森带入高科技未来。然而尽管早期热度很高，许多传统车迷对电动摩托车毫无好感，哈雷设想的新客户涌入从未出现。作为大股东的哈雷拒绝就 LiveWire 的声明置评。
“I think this is really just a realization of economics,” said John Healy, an analyst for Northcoast Research. “It’s a great concept, but maybe not ready for the masses at this point.”Once, LiveWire was meant to usher old-school Harley-Davidson into a high-tech future. Yet despite the early hype, many traditionalists had no love for the electric bikes, and the rush of new customers Harley envisioned never materialized. Majority-owner Harley declined to comment on LiveWire’s announcement.
哈雷于 2021 年宣布将 LiveWire 分拆为独立公司，称其需要自由以初创企业的速度和敏捷性行事。根据其最新年报，分拆以来它每年仅售出几百辆摩托车，并已亏损超过 3 亿美元。
Harley announced in 2021 it would spin off LiveWire as its own company, saying it needed the freedom to act with a startup’s speed and agility. It has since sold just a few hundred bikes each year and has lost more than $300 million since being spun off, according to its latest annual report.
尽管过去十年推出了大量新车型，电动摩托车在美国被证明依然难以推广。
Electric motorcycles have proven to be a difficult sell in the U.S. despite a plethora of new models introduced over the last decade.
与电动汽车一样，这些摩托车凭借瞬间爆发的扭矩加速迅猛，且运行噪音极小。但受限于电池容量较小，它们通常续航里程不长，这限制了其周末长途巡航的适用性。
Like electric cars, the bikes accelerate quickly with a rush of instant torque and make little noise. But their small batteries mean they usually can’t go very far on a charge, limiting their suitability for weekend cruising.
价格也往往不菲。首款 LiveWire 车型在以哈雷品牌上市时售价近 3 万美元。尽管现款车型价格不足当年的一半，但仍比许多燃油摩托车贵。
They also tend to be pricey. The first LiveWire model cost almost $30,000 when it went on sale under Harley’s nameplate. Although current versions cost less than half as much, they are still more expensive than many gas-powered models.
弗吉尼亚州列克星敦的摩托车手本·马歇尔拥有两辆 LiveWire。他表示，虽然部分骑手抱怨续航有限——他一次充电可行驶 70 至 120 英里——但他认为成本才是拥有权最大的障碍，尤其是其他电动摩托车制造商推出了更小、更实惠的车型。“这是决定一家公司能否成功的关键因素，”他说。
Ben Marshall, a motorcyclist in Lexington, Va., owns two LiveWires. He said that while some riders have complained about the bikes’ limited range—he gets between 70 to 120 miles on a charge—he thinks cost is the biggest barrier to ownership, especially as other electric bike makers come out with smaller, more affordable models. “That is what’s driving the popularity of whether a company does well,” he said.
LiveWire 也顺应这一趋势，近期推出了名为 S4 Honcho 的车型。越野版售价 5000 美元，合法上路版售价 5500 美元。公司今年收购了高性能越野电动初创公司 Dust Moto，但该品牌车型尚未上市。
LiveWire has joined that trend with its recent introduction of a model called the S4 Honcho. A version meant for off-roading costs $5,000, while its street-legal cousin goes for $5,500. The company this year acquired a high-performance, off-road electric startup called Dust Moto, but those bikes have yet to go on sale.
哈雷仍持有 LiveWire 近 90% 的股份，其多位高管在 LiveWire 董事会任职。虽然有分析师建议哈雷最好止损放弃，但公司已在该分拆业务上投入巨资。不过去年哈雷表示将不再追加投资。部分骑手表示，车子本身很棒，但围绕它们的宣传推广却不到位。
Harley still owns almost 90% of LiveWire shares, and several of its executives sit on its board. While some analysts have suggested that Harley would be better off pulling the plug, the company has invested heavily in the spinoff. Last year, though, it said it would invest no more. Some LiveWire riders say the bikes are great, but the messaging around them isn’t.
住在科罗拉多州的里德·赖萨宁三个月前买了一辆 LiveWire，尽管他担心公司的长期前景。他说对自己的车很满意，那是一辆从未骑行过的 2022 款车型，他以大幅折扣买下，但他对 LiveWire 未能宣传推广自家产品感到不解。
Reid Raisanen, who lives in Colorado, bought a LiveWire three months ago, even though he was concerned about the company’s long-term prospects. He said he has been pleased with his bike, a never-ridden 2022 model he picked up at a substantial discount, though he is puzzled by what he sees as LiveWire’s failure to publicize its products.
“他们基本上做得很到位，”他谈到自己的摩托车时说，“我认为这是营销的失败。”
“They pretty much nailed it,” he said of his motorcycle. “I think it’s a failure of marketing.”