KBB.com data shows Q1 growth in used UTV views
Used UTV views grew 45 percent on KBB.com in Q1 2013
Consumer interest in powersports vehicles continued to boom in the first quarter, according to exclusive data provided to Powersports Business by Kelley Blue Book.
The models receiving the most hits for each vehicle type in Q1 2013 averaged an 81 percent increase in KBB.com web hits over Q4 2012, with sport kikes averaging a 113 percent increase (the greatest gain) and UTVs averaging a 45 percent increase (the least gain).
“Following a surprisingly strong fourth quarter in 2012, the first quarter of 2013 has not disappointed,” said Lisa Pelissier, senior powersports analyst for Kelley Blue Book. “If we compare the gain in KBB.com web hits to one year ago in Q1 2012, we find an average increase of 98 percent across all vehicle types, which suggests that this is not merely a seasonal increase. Consumers appear to be almost twice as engaged in researching the buying and selling of powersports vehicles than they were one year ago.”
Only 10 of the top 20 ATVs listed for Q1 2013 were on the list in the previous quarter.
“Polaris usually is a dominating player in the ATVs over 400cc category, but during Q1 2013, there only were two Polaris models listed, and both of those were older models,” Pelissier said. “Nonetheless, interest is up anywhere from 16 percent to 113 percent (depending on the model) for Q1 2013. Interest in particular ATVs may be fickle, but interest in ATVs in general appears to be strong and growing.”
UTVs witnessed the least growth in Q1 2013, with an average increase of only 45 percent over Q4 2012.
“This still represents solid growth, which is a continuation of the astronomical increase in interest these vehicles demonstrated throughout 2012,” she said.
The top 10 UTVs showed a 92 percent growth in web hits over Q4 2012. Polaris and Yamaha continued to dominate the KBB.com web hits top 10 list in the UTV category. In Q4 2012, the 2006 Yamaha Rhino 660 gained significantly on the No. 1, the 2008 Polaris Ranger RZR, with the Ranger RZR receiving only 7 percent more web hits. In Q1 2013, the gap between them returned, with the Polaris receiving 45 percent more web hits.
