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8 • August 17, 2015 • Powersports Business NEWS www.PowersportsBusiness.com with distribution through already-established powersports dealers. "We believe that not just Bad Boy, but the combination of Bad Boy and E-Z-GO is a very compelling product lineup for a powersports dealer," Collins told Powersports Business during a visit to the com- pany's headquarters. Bad Boy offers the fully electric Recoil, Recoil iS and Recoil Crew, along with the fully electric HDe and hybrid gas and electric Ambush iS in its side- by-side lineup. And new for the 2016 model year is the gas-powered Onslaught, the brand's first ATV, which was shown exclusively to Power- sports Business in late July and will be avail- able in dealerships by early September. The Onslaught, which was designed to give ATV riders comfort and control, features a 503cc EFI engine with 4X4 and 12 inches of ground clearance. (The Onslaught will be TSV's first Bad Boy vehicle not manufactured in Augusta, as speed to market drew TSV to partner with a manufacturer in Taiwan.) "Bad Boy is a brand we plan to invest in, we plan to grow, and we believe in the right chan- nel, which is powersports, it can be very, very successful," Collins said. But TSV wants Bad Boy dealers to pick up the electric and gas personal transportation vehicle line E-Z-GO has to offer as well. The E-Z-GO line includes the Express PTVs, with aggressive styling and lifted suspensions for light off-road use; Terrain PTVs, two-wheel drives with cargo beds ideal for large acreages and estates; and the 2Five, a street-legal, low- speed vehicle for use in most states on public roads with posted speed limits of 35 mph or less. Dealers can also carry Freedom personal golf cars. "The E-Z-GO value proposition works so well inside that dealership because it is an incremental line of business that they don't get today," Collins said. Though some early adopter dealers have been those who are within a market that includes a community or group of communi- ties that have fully embraced the PTV lifestyle, TSV sees opportunities for PTV sales in nearly every market in the U.S. "That PTV business is not something pow- ersports dealers think about, but you go to any race event, any weekend event, any lake or beach, and what do you see? You see this PTV product everywhere," Collins said. "It's not just these green golf cars running down the assem- bly line. It's an orange Valor, and it's a British racing green Terrain 250, and it's a red Free- dom, and those are not going to golf courses; those are going to individual consumers." As TSV has begun reaching out to dealers, looking to recruit more into its powersports network, it has received a positive response from many. One 41-year dealership veteran told TSV that he had been thinking about the PTV channel for a few years, and as soon as he heard what E-Z-GO and Bad Boy were offering, he signed on. Another dealer from Wisconsin recently visited the TSV factory, and after see- ing all the consumer-ordered PTVs, added the E-Z-GO brand, even though he had planned on only adding Bad Boy. "They see what's going on in their market, but when we go in and sit down and have the business conversation, and you lay it out in front of them, they start seeing the dollars," explained Philip Jhant, director, Channel Devel- opment and Recruitment. "They understand this is an opportunity that they really have not been able to tap into, and quite honestly, never thought about it. It's never been front of mind until we go in and have that conversation, and once you start having that conversation, and they start thinking how many places just in their market that they see this vehicle being used today, they understand it." Jhant and four others at TSV are currently in the recruitment stage, looking to add dealers across the U.S. So far, he says, both brands have gained traction throughout the country. "We've had some very good success stories early on where they brought this product in and immediately saw a different customer come into their store," Jhant reported. REACHING NEW CUSTOMERS When TSV decided to begin distributing its PTVs through powersports dealerships, the company did so because PTVs draw in different customers than traditional powersports vehicles. "The value proposition we believe we bring to a powersports dealer is we're going to bring them a customer that they don't get today, and we're going to allow them to sell a product that they don't have today but is widely wanted and is desired in the marketplace and is absolutely growing, that consumer PTV space, and at the same time give them access to Bad Boy that has, I think, a good set of current products and has a very aggressive plan for product expansion and market share growth," Collins said. Though many dealers already bring in the hunting crowd, Bad Boy has experienced growth in that market, as its electric motors reduce the field of disturbance around the vehicle. Ranchers and those who deal with live- stock also like Bad Boy side-by-sides because they don't scare the animals. On the other hand, E-Z-GO PTVs attract families looking for a safe but fun ride for their children or something to run around town in, as well as retirees looking to move around at the lake or a campground, along with other customers who may not be interested in the go- fast lifestyle powersports dealers usually offer. "Today, if you look at the average buyer of an E-Z-GO PTV product … they make over $100,000 a year. It's over 55 years old, white collar, affluent, and it's a set of customers that a lot of times the powersports dealer is not get- ting," Collins said. PTVs can complement other non-powers- ports product dealers are carrying as well, such as boats. "You're starting to see a lot of powersports guys that are carrying the high-end wake boats; they already have personal watercraft, so from a usage standpoint, customers are already buying the product there that they're going to recreate with on the lake or wherever they're going with it; this product is just the perfect bolt onto that because … they have a need for that because they have the boat; they have the lake house, and this product fits right into that space," Jhant said. PTVs also offer a rental opportunity for dealers looking for yet another revenue stream. "If you took a Cham- ber of Commerce calen- dar where this dealer is, and you start seeing the car shows and the rho- dodendron festival and the Fourth of July cel- ebration and all these different types of activities going on, what the PTV offers them is it gives them a great rental opportunity because they don't rent vehicles that go 55 miles per hour, gas vehicles, just from the safety factor in crowds like that, and a lot of dealers have jumped on this and understand that 'I can put this rental fleet of 30 units in and rent them to weddings or any type of activity that goes on in that area.' It's a great revenue stream for them that they never could touch with product they have today," Jhant said. PARTS AND ACCESSORIES Just like other side-by-side brands, Bad Boy is seeing its customers accessorize its vehicles with products that can total into the thousands. While Bad Boy customers are adding winches, racks, LED lights and gun boots to their side-by-sides, PTV customers are more focused on aesthetics. PTV owners tend to personalize the looks of their units, adding new tires and wheels, ste- reo systems, roofs, windshields, new cowls and variety of products to their vehicles. Many PTV customers also create themes for their vehicles, focusing on anything from their favorite col- lege football team, NASCAR racer, or hobby for inspiration. "Especially when you're looking at that neighborhood-type vehicle, it kind of becomes he who has the better toy wins. And it gets to where Mr. Jones got this vehicle, and he put on this, so his next-door neighbor, he goes in, and he goes, 'I can do better than that.' So he gets two subwoofers put on it and not a 12-inch wheel but a 14-inch wheel put on it for a higher lift," explained Justin Brennan, vice president, Parts & Service. Brennan said it's not uncommon for an E-Z- GO PTV buyer to spend $1,000 or more on parts and accessories at the time of purchase. "You see anything from somebody walking out the showroom floor with a very minimal purchase of putting the top and the windshield on the vehicle to people putting the stereos and the tires and wheels and undercarriage lights on the vehicle to anything that you can imag- ine," Brennan reported. The dealers who have been most successful with E-Z-GO parts and accessories have been the ones who display the P&A well. A couple of dealers, who built what they thought were ridiculously over-accessorized units to show the possibilities with E-Z-GO, sold their pre- accessorized units — appropriately marked up with parts and labor considered — off their floors quickly. "The successful dealer, he has the model on the showroom floor that's got it all — this is every kid's wish list right there sitting on the showroom floor — but then he's also got on display the stuff that's on that vehicle," Bren- nan said. TSV carefully considers parts and acces- sories before ever bringing a vehicle to market. In fact, TSV has developed Parts & Accessories as a department that has its own VP and staff, just like the other departments — Consumer, BAD BOY CONTINUED FROM COVER See Bad Boy, Page 9 Vehicle body parts in a variety of colors are lined up at TSV's headquarters, waiting for assembly. Textron Specialized Vehicles offers service classes for dealership technicians either on-site in Augusta or in the field at TSV dealerships. The on-site classroom includes electric and gas motors for hands-on training. The Onslaught, Bad Boy's first ATV, was shown exclusively to Powersports Business in late July. The gas-powered ATV will be hitting dealerships in late August or early September. JOHN COLLINS