Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/328305
PWC 26 • June 16, 2014 • Powersports Business www.PowersportsBusiness.com PWC sales growth continues in April After spiking in March, personal watercraft sales improved even more in April, with year- over-year sales growth edging up sharply to 10 percent, according to the latest data from Info-Link Technologies. The category has been in positive territory since July of 2013. Powerboat customers are reacting favor- ably to the warmer weather, with most catego- ries experiencing positive year-over-year sales growth as the U.S. economy gains momentum. Year-over-year sales growth of powerboats larger than 15 feet hit the 10-percent mark in April, matching highs seen throughout the 2012 selling season. Ski boat sales also edged sharply higher, and exceeded 15-percent sales growth for the month. This is the best month for the ski boat category since the dawn of the Great Recession. Outboard sales are similarly healthy, approaching 15 percent year-over-year sales growth for the month. Sterndrives and jet boats are grouped into a single category, and continue to decline in tandem, albeit at a less steep rate than previous months. For April, the combined category saw its sales approximately 10 percent less than previous-year levels. The data is based on new U.S. boat regis- trations. Bellwether states are geographically dispersed states representing roughly half of the U.S. boat market (which varies by market segment and time of year). SEA-DOO SPARK CHALKS UP FIVE AWARDS Continuing the history of industry-leading product innovation and design, BRP recently won multiple awards for its 2014 Sea-Doo Spark watercraft in the areas of affordability, design and engineering. The new Sea-Doo Spark watercraft is ini- tiating an industry-wide progression to more affordable and accessible watercraft and is being recognized for this innovation. BRP received to date a Red Dot Award for high design quality, the Consumers Digest maga- zine's Best Buy Award, Boating Industry maga- zine's Top Products Award, and the Edison Award for Innovation and Engineering, in addition to the National Marine Manufac- turers Association's Innovation Award. "The Sea-Doo Spark is clear proof that genuine innovation emerges as a response to challenging market conditions," noted Frank Bonafilia, executive director, Edison Awards. The Sea-Doo Spark watercraft features a nimble and compact design thanks to an all- new Exoskel architecture and the use of a new, lightweight, durable and recyclable Polytec material. The mould-injected process allowed BRP designers to implement new concepts in the area of shape and structure leading to a unique look and offering an equally refreshing way to play on the water. "The bottom line — for the average rider — certainly the beginner — a 60-hp PWC that delivers top-end speeds in the low 40-mph (64-km/h) range will be more than enough to get the adrenaline flowing, based on our hands-on evaluation," commented Consumers Digest. The most accessible new watercraft on the market, the 2014 Sea-Doo Spark water- craft, costs nearly 40 percent less than its closest competitive model and is the most fuel-efficient watercraft in the industry, according to Sea-Doo. The performance segment also claimed its share of awards with BRP's Sea-Doo RXT 260 and RXP-X 260 models with respective Consumers Digest's Performance Best Buy and Best in Class by PWCToday.com for the per- formance segment. NMMA: PWC SALES INCREASED IN 2013 Sales of personal watercraft increased 2 per- cent in 2013 when compared to 2012, the National Marine Manufacturers Associa- tion reported. At retail, 39,400 PWC were sold during the '13 calendar year. The NMMA announced that the recre- ational boating industry overall saw healthy growth in 2013, generating $36.7 billion in retail expenditures (new and pre-owned boats and engines, trailers, accessories and ser- vices), a 3.2 percent increase from 2012. An estimated 166,800 new powerboats and sail- boats were sold at retail in 2013, an increase of 2.2 percent, coming on the heels of the indus- try's 2012 rebound when new powerboat and sailboat retail sales increased 10.7 percent — the industry's first sign of recovery. The NMMA is anticipating continued momentum with an additional 5-7 percent increase in retail sales of new boats in 2014. The NMMA released these findings as part of its U.S. Recreational Boating Statisti- cal Abstract, an annual collection of data and analysis on the state of the U.S. recreational boating industry released June 1. PSB DIGEST The Sea-Doo Spark has hauled in numerous innovation awards. P26-PSB8-PWC.indd 26 6/4/14 2:31 PM