sales dip but pricier sleds sell well
Amsnow
Snowmobile unit sales figures for the 2004-05 season show a slight decline from a year earlier, but more money was spent on new sleds due to the popularity of high-performance models with higher price tags.
The International Snowmobile Manufacturer's Association says worldwide snowmobile sales were 173,733 units last season, compared with 181,336 a year earlier, a decline of 4%. Sales in both the U.S. and Canada also declined.
Ed Klim, ISMA president, said spotty snow during the last several years is a major contributor to the slowed sales. With less snow, people are putting fewer miles on their existing sleds and not buying new as frequently.
However, those who are buying are spending more on their sleds by buying the higher-end models.
In dollars, U.S. sales were $825 million, up from $711 million a year earlier, a 16% jump. That was in a market where 100,899 sleds were sold, a decline of about 8% from a season earlier. However, the average price for a sled was $8,183, up 26% from $6,483 in the previous season.
The story was similar in Canada, where 46,304 sleds were sold last season, down from 48,556, a 4.6% decline. However, nearly $367 million was spent on the sleds, up from $345 million a year earlier, a 6.5% increase. That boosted the average cost of a sled in Canada to $7,942, up from $7,100, a rise of nearly 12%.
Klim said the price increase also shows that to create cleaner and quieter sleds, which is being mandated by various governments, manufacturers must spend more and therefore charge more.
However, he said that as such technology is spread across snowmobile makers' entire lineups, economies of scale will kick in and prices should moderate.
In addition, Klim said sales of parts, garments and other accessories climbed 15% last season, a trend fueled by snowmobilers repairing and working on their existing sleds. He said the current trend is favoring the used sled market and many newcomers to the recreational activity of snowmobiling are first buying used, a trend that is also popular in the boating market.
Combined with the trailer market, Klim said the parts, garments and accessory segment had sales of nearly $1 billion in 2004-05. Add in worldwide snowmobile sales and the market is roughly $2.6 billion, which gives it a $26 billion economic impact worldwide each year, about $20 billion of that being in the United States.