Sonic sets second straight sales record at Sturgis
One of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing powersports retailers, Sonic Automotive, continued its record-setting tradition at the country’s largest motorcycle event, the 86th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, after selling 1,135 bikes.
The total included a record 511 new Harley-Davidson motorcycles, securing Black Hills Harley-Davidson as the No. 1 Harley-Davidson dealership in the nation for year-to-date new motorcycle sales, the company said in a statement.
During last year’s Sturgis Rally, Sonic’s five dealerships in the Black Hills topped the 1,110-bike mark during the 10-day event. This year, Sonic says it deployed more than 1,200 new and pre-owned motorcycles across its Black Hills locations.
“What we accomplished represents far more than another record at the Rally,” says David Smith, Sonic Automotive chairman and CEO. “It validates the strategy behind the platform we are building: expanding our Harley-Davidson footprint, investing in the selection riders want, and giving our teammates the scale and support to execute at the highest level.
Key facts
- Record retail performance: 1,135 new and pre-owned motorcycles sold, Sonic’s highest rally sales volume to date.
- Record new-motorcycle sales: 511 new Harley-Davidson motorcycles sold during the rally.
- Sturgis Harley-Davidson: 348 new and pre-owned motorcycles sold, a dealership record.
- Rally operating scale: More than 550 Sonic Powersports teammates deployed across five Black Hills locations.
“Sturgis is the Super Bowl of motorcycle retail, and our team came ready to compete,” says Jeff Dyke, president of Sonic Automotive. “We brought more motorcycles, more teammates, and more resources to the Black Hills than ever before.”
Dyke adds that the company will continue with this strategy to maximize sales, not just at Sturgis, but at other major motorcycling events like Daytona Bike Week — a key benefit, he says, of having a diverse dealership portfolio throughout the country.
Across Sonic’s six-state powersports portfolio, Harley dealerships represent a little more than half, including nine full-service Harley-Davidson dealerships and four H-D retail locations focused on apparel and accessories.
