U.S. Suzuki dealers remain ahead with sales YTD
Overall sales volume slows in April, but street bikes up
Suzuki celebrated April by opening the road race season with three consecutive wins and wrapping up a successful 2016 Supercross campaign, finishing second in the championship highlighted by five wins.
To start the MotoAmerica Superbike season, Yoshimura Suzuki pilot Toni Elias won the first three races of the season in Texas and Georgia, helping prove the Suzuki GSX-R1000 remains a class-leading sportbike. Originally brought on as a fill-in rider for the injured Jake Lewis, Elias, a former Moto2 World Champion, will contest the entire 2016 MotoAmerica Superbike season for the Yoshimura Suzuki Racing team. Lewis will join the Team Hammer squad and contest the Superstock 1000 class, when he completes his rehabilitation.
RCH Racing’s Ken Roczen raced his Suzuki RM-Z450 to AMA Supercross wins in Massachusetts and in New Jersey, his fourth and fifth back-to-back victories of the season. Roczen secured second place overall in the AMA SX championship race.
Overall year-to-date sales volume for Suzuki dealers remains ahead of the same period last year, despite year-over-year declines for the month of April, according to Steve Bortolamedi, communications manager for Suzuki Motor of America, Inc.
Suzuki dealers continue to gain attention with their standard-segment models; sales in that category remain strong. From the GSX-S750 to the entry-level-priced TU250X, Suzuki’s streetbike sales are growing fast. Sport-oriented street riders are choosing the all-new GSX-S1000 models, with robust retail for all three bikes in the lineup.
Suzuki recently announced the pricing and availability of the new SV650 motorcycles. The 2017 SV650 and SV650 ABS are competitively priced at $6,999 and $7,499, respectively, and will arrive at Suzuki dealers beginning in June for the prime selling months. These two motorcycles will draw a wide range of buyers to Suzuki and help re-energize the brand.
Sales of KingQuad ATVs, though slowing slightly in April, remain positive year to date compared to the same period last year. Buyers continue to show strong interest in the KingQuad 400 line of ATVs, which deliver Suzuki fuel-injection technology in a five-speed or CVT automatic transmission. The KingQuad 500 models also remain strong sellers for Suzuki dealers across the country and for Suzuki Manufacturing of America Corp., the Georgia facility which recently celebrated 15 years of Suzuki ATV production in the states.
With strong sales across the three-model lineup, Suzuki’s MX segment is in the black (and yellow) for 2016 year over year. With strong performance rankings among motocross media, podium-earning results in Supercross races and an attractive retail campaign offering cash back or zero APR financing, the RM-Z450, RM-Z250 and RM85 motocross bikes remain popular. Buyers of the RM85 also have the added benefit of a Pro Circuit exhaust kit promotion.
Suzuki Motor of America (SMAI) and its dealers continue to promote the Suzuki Zero retail campaign as an option that can save qualified buyers significant money on the purchase of a new vehicle. SMAI is also promoting demo rides, both at select dealers across the country and several MotoAmerica roadrace events this summer.
The company is preparing announcements soon on several 2017 models, including information on the delivery timing and retail pricing for the new GSX-R1000. This highly anticipated introduction will increase attention on Suzuki dealers and across the model lineup.
