Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/687402
www.PowersportsBusiness.com NEWS Powersports Business • June 13, 2016 • 3 HOTNEWS CONTINUED FROM COVER The company does not plan to hire a new president/COO; Wine will assume responsibility for Morgan's direct reports. INDUSTRY SALES VET TURNER JOINS YUASA BATTERY Laureldale, Pa.-based Yuasa Battery Inc. has announced that Darrell Wilson and Steve Turner have joined the company in sales capacities. Wilson, who previously was vice president of sales and mar- keting for Yuasa from 2003 to 2004, returns to the company as the vice president of sales. He will report to Hitoshi Ohta, chairman and CEO. San Francisco-based Alta Motors is ramping up its corporate team and beginning delivery of pre-orders of its electric motorcy- cles, with the formation of a dealership network also in the offing. Alta's Redshift, a line of electric motocross and supermoto motor- cycles, announced the hiring of industry veterans Jon Bekefy as business development manager and Jeremy Cleland as dealer development manager. Bekefy comes to Alta with a wealth of experience. He brings vast experience in marketing and strategic partnerships with Leo Vince USA, Ducati North America and IMZ Ural. He also had non-sector roles at Hannspree and Triple-Aught Design. "I absolutely love the Redshift. As someone who rides motor- cycles every day, the motorcycle itself is beautiful, and the per- formance makes the Redshift SM the ultimate urban machine," Bekefy said. "The technology behind the bike opens up so many opportunities for customers to tailor the bike to their needs, I had to be part of this movement at Alta." A former supermoto road racer, AMA land speed record holder and current flat track racer, Cleland joins Alta with a proven track record for accelerating the growth of global brands. Prior to join- ing Alta, he spent time with Ducati North America and oversaw PG&A for North and South America markets at the Piaggio Group. An early employee at Tesla Motors, Cleland was one of the architects behind its aftersales support, the e-commerce launch and vehicle accessories product development. "I am thrilled to be part of the talented team here at Alta Motors," Cleland said. "The Redshift MX and SM are phenomenal machines with amazing performance, stunning looks and electric powertrain innovations that put Alta as the clear leader." "We are pleased that Jon and Jeremy have joined Alta. The customer pre-orders continue to amass with almost all of our 2016-production capacity spoken for," said Marc Fenigstein, co-founder and CEO of Alta Motors. "We have successfully part- nered with top-tier dealers in Northern California, Florida and the Pacific Northwest. Our sales team is growing to accommodate the accelerated regional expansion with dealer partnerships in Los Angeles, San Diego, New York and the Southwest." Alta Motors began in 2007 as an idea — what the perfect torque delivery of electric drive could do for motorcycle riders and racers. Officially founding the company in 2010, Fenigstein and his partners, Derek Dorresteyn and Jeff Sand, have been obsessively churning out groundbreaking technology to build the Redshift, a legitimate performance electric motorcycle capable of competing against any bike and power plant on the grid. The Alta team now includes the very best from Tesla, GM, Toyota, Volk- swagen and AMA racing. ALTA MOTORS EXPANDS REDSHIFT SALES TEAM NEWS 8 ... Suzuki street bike sales grow FINANCIAL NEWS 10 ... Arctic Cat increases net sales in Q4 OPINION 13 ... From the Editor 13 ... Online at PowersportsBusiness.com PSB: FOCUS Tire & Wheel 15 ... WELD benefits from HiPer acquisition 16 ... Study: Tire sales by month 18 ... MTA grows tire, wheel brand offerings 18 ... Moose's Switchback moves well 20 ... Dunlop launches Pro Dealer program ATV/UTV 22 ... Polaris Defense unveils MRZR 24 ... Arctic Cat offers virtual Wildcat ride 24 ... Honda introduces 2017 models MOTORCYCLE 32 ... Ducati increases 2015 unit sales 33 ... Dealer's event focuses on technology 34 ... New Jersey dealership expands SOLUTIONS 38 ... Sam Dantzler 39 ... Mark Mooney PWC 44 ... Dealer hosts on-water poker run AFTERMARKET 46 ... First Gear adds new brand manager 49 ... Hot Products INSIDE Kubota Tractor Corporation issued a recall of approximately 23,400 units, when it was found that the steering shaft can break and potentially cause the operator to lose control of the vehicle, posing an injury hazard due to risk of collision. This recall involves model year 2013, 2014 and 2015 Kubota RTV400 and RTV500 series gas-powered utility vehicles. Recalled utility vehicles come in orange and camouflage and have serial numbers rang- ing from 10001 to 22042 for the RTV400 and 25083 to 40991 for the RTV500. The model is on the side of the unit and on the data plate on the back of the cab, between the cab and the bed. The serial number is also on the data plate. Consumers have been asked to immediately stop using the recalled utility vehicles and contact an authorized Kubota dealer for a free inspection and a free repair. Kubota is contact- ing known customers directly. Kubota Tractor Corporation can be reached at 800/752-0290 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific Monday through Friday, or online at www.kubota.com and click on More, then Safety, then Safety Notices for more information. PSB BMW president Schaller named president of manufacturing association The International Motorcycle Manufacturers Association elected Stephan Schaller as its new president in May. The deci- sion was taken by IMMA's General Assembly, hosted by the Federation of Asian Motorcycle Industries (FAMI) and the Indonesian Motorcycle Industry Association (AISI), in Den- pasar, Bali, Indonesia. Schaller, president of BMW Motorrad, who currently serves as president of the European Association of Motorcycle Manu- facturers (ACEM), will hold the presidency from May 2016 to May 2018. He succeeds Paul Jones, from the U.S. Motorcycle Manu- facturers Association (USMMA), who was presi- dent from 2014-16. Schaller has more than 30 years of experience in the automotive sector. Since 2012, he has been the president of BMW Motorrad, the motorcycle division of BMW Group, and has served as ACEM president since 2013. He was also vice president of the IMMA for one year. "It is a privilege and an honor to take over the IMMA presidency," Schaller said. "On behalf of all members, I thank Paul Jones for his leadership as president over the last two years. During my mandate, I will continue strengthening IMMA's role as the trusted global voice of motorcycle manufacturers." The IMMA represents the combined skills and interests of the powered two- and three-wheelers manufacturing industry at the global level. Stephan Schaller, president of BMW Motorrad, has been named president of the International Motorcycle Manufacturers Association. Jon Bekefy (left) and Jeremy Cleland are the newest additions to the Alta Motors executive lineup. Among the first dealers to add the electric motorcycle brand to their lineup are Alta Motors of San Francisco and Dazey's Motors- ports in California and Bellevue Kawasaki and Skagit Powersports in Washing- ton state. New dealers are soon to be announced in Los Angeles, San Diego and New York City. Turner has joined Yuasa Bat- tery Inc. as the national sales manager-powersports. He will report to AyKaun Okuma, senior director of aftermarket sales for Yuasa. Prior to rejoining Yuasa Bat- tery, Wilson was director of marketing and communications at Chesapeake Utilities Corpo- ration in Salisbury, Md., where he held several positions since joining the company in 2007. He began his career with Energizer Batteries and held a number of sales management positions, including manager of national accounts. Wilson was also an adjunct lecturer of marketing and sales in the Franklin P. Perdue School of Business at Salisbury University, where he coached several students in national sales role-play competitions. Wilson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Susque- hanna University in Selinsgrove, Pa., and an MBA in marketing from Golden Gate University in Sacramento. Turner was most recently a field sales manager of powers- ports for Bridgestone in Nash- ville before joining Yuasa Battery. He previously worked as the gen- eral manager for Honda of Cool Springs in Brentwood, Tenn. Turner holds a Bachelor of Sci- ence in broadcast management from East Tennessee State Uni- versity. He and his family reside in Nashville. His interests include riding motorcycles and running. Both recent appointees to the Yuasa sales team have long-term experience working for branded consumer products compa- nies and their familiarity with the powersports industry will become instant assets for Yuasa. LOTVANTAGE PROMOTS JABAAY Tampa-based LotVantage announced that Jim Jabaay has been promoted to vice president. Jabaay joined LotVantage in 2014 to operate the company's sales and marketing teams. His experience in the auto- motive industry, through his fam- ily's dealership experience and with Manheim Auctions, has made him an extremely valuable asset to LotVantage. Kubota recall affects 23,400 UTVs See Hot News, Page 4 JIM JABAAY