VOA慢速英语--哈雷-戴维森停止生产电动自行车

Harley-Davidson Stops Production of Electric Bike to Investigate Problem

Harley-Davidson has halted production of its new electric LiveWire motorcycle after finding a problem during quality control tests.

In a statement, the company said it “recently discovered a non-standard condition during a final quality check” of the first motorcycles. The Wall Street Journal says the problem relates to the vehicle’s power charging system.

Harvey-Davidson announced on Monday that it had begun “additional testing.” It said the tests were “progressing well,” but did not say when the LiveWire’s production might restart.

The company also announced it has halted shipments of the motorcycle to Harley dealerships. The Reuters news agency says the company had begun shipping⁴ the cycles to dealers² in late September.

The fully⁵ electric LiveWire is seen as an attempt by Harley to appeal to a new generation of young, environment-friendly riders. But automotive experts say its cost -- nearly $30,000 – is too high for many people. They add there is little evidence the 116-year-old company’s new bike will be popular among young riders.

Harley-Davidson has long struggled to increase sales in the United States. The U.S. market makes up more than half of the company’s total motorcycles sold.

In 2018, Harley reported its sharpest sales drop at U.S. dealerships in four years. The company’s U.S. sales are expected to fall again this year. As a result, Harley Davidson stock prices have fallen 42 percent in value over the past five years.

LiveWire is much smaller than most of the company’s traditional street bikes. The company says the LiveWire can reach a speed of 96 kilometers an hour in just under three seconds. It can travel about 235 kilometers on a single power charge.

LiveWire has been available for preorder in the U.S. market since January. The Reuters news agency spoke⁶ with at least 40 dealerships that will sell the bikes. Representatives told Reuters that most of the LiveWire orders received so far came from existing Harley owners or older riders.

Some dealers told the news agency they had received a lot of requests for information about LiveWire from young people. But the bike’s cost is making it difficult to turn that interest into sales.

“Interest is very high,” one sales manager at a New Jersey-based dealership³ told Reuters. “But once you get to pricing, interest is thrown out of the window.”

One of Harley’s competitors is Zero Motorcycles, a California-based company. It is already selling electric bikes in the United States, with prices starting from $8,500. Its top-end bike – the Zero SR/F - is comparable to LiveWire, but costs nearly $9,000 less.

Bob Clark is a dealer¹ for Zero Motorcycles in Chicago. He told Reuters that most younger buyers he deals with are deciding to go with the lower cost bikes. Clark said he has not yet sold any SR/F models to riders under the age of 35. All three electric bikes he sold to young riders this year were in the $10,000 price range.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

standard – adj. widely used

preorder – n. an order for a product that has yet to appear in stores or dealerships

manager – n. someone in control of an office, ship, team, etc.

afford – v. have enough money to buy something

gasoline – n. a petroleum⁷ product used as a fuel for car or truck engines

conscious – n. to know that something is present or happening

1 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

2 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

3 dealership   

n.商品特许经销处

参考例句：

• The car dealership has a large inventory of used cars. 这家汽车经销商拥有数量庞大的二手车。
• A key to this effort is the experience in the dealership. 达到这个成果的关键是销售的体验。

4 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。