Dealers report rough Q2

UTVs give dealers limited optimism

Rain and cold weather. Those were the two reasons cited by most dealers as to why their dealership’s second quarter results weren’t quite what they hoped for. Though there were some bright spots, with UTV sales especially, motorcycles and PWC took a tumble for many in the April through June period.

Half of the nearly 200 dealers from 44 states and Canada polled by Powersports Business and RBC Capital Markets reported their Q2 performance was below plan. New units took at least part of the blame for 46 percent of dealers, who reported sales were “weak” or “somewhat weak” during the quarter.

Traffic was down for 39 percent of dealers, and buying interest appeared to drop in 41 percent of stores.

Dragging the quarter down were motorcycle sales, as 53 percent of sport bike dealers reported a 5 percent decrease or more, while 43 percent of heavyweight motorcycle dealers reported the same. Sales also dropped for 42 percent of off-road bike dealers, 45 percent of scooter stores and for 46 percent who sell PWC. Side-by-side sales were the highlight for 53 percent of dealers, who reported a sales increase of 5 percent or more.

Because of the PWC decrease, 43 percent of those dealers reported being left with too much inventory. Looking into the fall, 47 percent of snowmobile dealers reported the same.

Despite less-than-stellar results, dealers still remain optimistic for some segments, with 47 percent of ATV dealers and 41 percent of heavyweight motorcycle dealers expecting an increase in sales over the next 12 months. Nearly three-quarters — 71 percent — of side-by-side dealers are expecting 5 percent or more sales increases over the next year.

Click here to purchase a full copy of the survey results.

Chicken dinner

For completing the Powersports Business/RBC Capital Markets Q2 Dealer Survey, the following dealers were randomly selected to win $100 Best Buy gift cards from RBC:

Kip Niles, Arlington Motorsports, Arlington, TX
Art Guilfoil, Doug Douglas Motorcycles, San Bernardino, CA
Dile Brown, Knoxville Harley-Davidson, Knoxville, TN
Josh Lawhorne, Delta Powersports, Delta Junction, AK
Mark Holmes, FDR Honda Kawasaki, Paducah, KY