Ride CT & Ride New England Serving New England, NYC and The Hudson Valley!
MINNEAPOLIS – Buried in the press release from Polaris Industries on its 2017 third quarter results this week was some striking news about Indian. The brand’s market share surpassed the 10 percent mark in September.
Motorcycle industry sales in the 900cc and above category “were down high-single digits” in Q3, Polaris noted, but reported that Indian increased its retail sales by 16 percent “partly driven by new model introductions including the new Chieftain Elite and Limited models and Roadmaster Classic. ”
Polaris said motorcycle segment sales “totaled $155.1 million, a decrease of 14 percent from the $181.2 million reported in Q3 of 2016.” The decline is traceable to flagging retail sales of Polaris Slingshot models and the winding down of the now defunct Victory motorcycle brand, the shut down of which was announced in January.
“Adjusted for the Victory Motorcycles wind down costs of $7.6 million, motorcycle gross profit was $17.9 million, down from the third quarter last year due primarily to lower Slingshot volume,” the company said.
Overall, Polaris reported “third quarter 2017 sales of $1,478.7 million, up 25 percent from $1,185.1 million for the third quarter of 2016.” Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) and snowmobile sales totaled $1,007.4 million, a 12 percent increase from the third quarter in 2016.
“Our emphatic return to profitable growth in the third quarter was a testament to the power of the Polaris brand, the strength of our dealer network and the competitive drive of the Polaris team. During the quarter, strong retail growth in both North America and nearly all of our International markets drove record sales and highlighted our ongoing product innovation, improving product quality and sharpened execution,” said Polaris chairman and CEO Scott Wine.
(Photos courtesy of Indian)
