What's going on in the snowmobile business ?

TK4

TK4

Well-known member
Forum Sponsor
Yamaha's out - that leaves Arctic Cat, Ski-Doo and Polaris. With our milder winters and greater use of ATVs and UTVs what's going to happen next ?
 
Maybe CFMoto will expand into snowmobiles?
 
Either they adapt to climate changes or they phase out..
 
TK4 said:
Yamaha's out - that leaves Arctic Cat, Ski-Doo and Polaris. With our milder winters and greater use of ATVs and UTVs what's going to happen next ?
Click to expand...
I'd be surprised if Arctic cat isn't out very shortly as well they were leaning very heavily on Yamaha

Sent from the future
 
I don't see the business model surviving. Season south of North Bay is becoming non-existent. There will always be a need in the far north and Alaska but if epa requires compliance, it may be cheaper to get out of the game than to certify for such a small market.
 
There are 3 major manufacturers left. My guess is the remaining three will go on for another decade as a good chunk of their machines are sold to people who need snow machines. ArcticCat has to be the most challenged as they don't make powerplants - the good news is there are lots of OE engine makers (Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Rotax) that do.

25 years back ATVs achieved performance and durability levels that made them practical for most recreational users. That took a big chunk of the recreational snowmobile market. But ATVs don't cut it when you need a snowmobile. I have both, a sled goes through a foot or more of snow and moves quickly through snow and across ice. ATVs are sloths in snow, anything more than a few inches is tough slogging.

I doubt you'll see new mass market entrants.
 
Mad Mike said:
There are 3 major manufacturers left. My guess is the remaining three will go on for another decade as a good chunk of their machines are sold to people who need snow machines. ArcticCat has to be the most challenged as they don't make powerplants - the good news is there are lots of OE engine makers (Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Rotax) that do.

25 years back ATVs achieved performance and durability levels that made them practical for most recreational users. That took a big chunk of the recreational snowmobile market. But ATVs don't cut it when you need a snowmobile. I have both, a sled goes through a foot or more of snow and moves quickly through snow and across ice. ATVs are sloths in snow, anything more than a few inches is tough slogging.

I doubt you'll see new mass market entrants.
Click to expand...
AC began making many of their own engines back in 2014. Figure they’ve got to bring out a big 4T now that the Yamaha partnership is over but they should have something in mind for that segment.
 
Yamaha , skidoo, arctic cat , Polaris ? And sub brand timbersled . Or is Polaris dead ?


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom