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Harley-Davidson (HOG) to Open R&D Facility in Silicon Valley

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Harley-Davidson, Inc. (HOG - Free Report) will set up a research and development (R&D) facility in the Silicon Valley of northern California. The new facility will support Harley-Davidson to develop its product portfolio, including the entire range of electric vehicles.

Expected to open in fourth-quarter 2018, this northern Californian hub will serve as a satellite for the company’s Willie G. Davidson product development facility at Wauwatosa, WI. Initially, the factory will focus on the research and development of components, and design related to electric motorcycles. Harley-Davidson’s first no-clutch electric motorcycle, LiveWire, will be launched in 2019. This will be followed by additional models in the same portfolio through 2022.

For the longer term, the center will focus to develop advanced technologies to widen its product offering, with a comprehensive and competitive lineup of motorcycles within the broad spectrum of the price range, riding styles, and power sources.

Harley-Davidson, Inc. Price and Consensus

 

Earlier, in July, the company shared its growth plan to expand and attract new riders through product introductions and stronger dealers. Of late, Harley-Davidson has realized that it is too focused on large heavyweight motorcycles and needs to grow its expertise in 250-500cc motorcycles. Beginning from 2020, the company plans to launch motorcycles under middleweight (500cc to 1250cc) and lightweight (250cc to 500cc) categories, except for its heavyweight category.

Price Performance

In the past three months, Harley-Davidson’s stock has gained 2.6%, outperforming 13% decline recorded by the industry it belongs to.

 

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Harley-Davidson currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked stocks in the auto space include PACCAR Inc. (PCAR - Free Report) , Navistar International Corporation and Fox Factory Holdings, Inc. (FOXF - Free Report) . PACCAR and Navistar carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) while Fox Factory sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

PACCAR has an expected long-term growth rate of 10.8%. Over the past three months, shares of the company have gained 6.7%.

Navistar has an expected long-term growth rate of 5%. Shares of the company have risen 2.9% in the past three months.

Fox Factory has an expected long-term growth rate of 16.8%. Over the past three months, shares of the company have gained 60.9%.

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