Polaris reveals innovative new products at ORV dealer show: analyst
Polaris hosted its dealer meeting and analyst event in Minneapolis over the weekend, and while media are not permitted to attend, BMO Capital Markets analyst Gerrick Johnson was there and provided us with the research note below.
“The highlight was the reveal of new ORV products. Some investors were disappointed PII did not introduce a new 72-inch side-by-side vehicle with horsepower topping Can-Am’s Maverick X3. But there was still plenty of innovation. The new 64-inch RZR XP Pro SxS, Ranger 1000, and bulked-up Sportsman and Scrambler 1000 ATVs will provide dealers with plenty of new product to sell to their customers. Innovation sells and we expect this lineup to help PII to re-accelerate market share capture.
“Key Points
“At its dealer meeting over the weekend, the market was abuzz about the potential introduction of a new, next generation RZR recreational SxS platform headlined by a hero product with market leading horsepower >200HP.
“While Polaris (PII) did deliver on the promise of a new platform, the first wave was not led by what the market had anticipated. Rather than a new 72-inch RZR with class-leading horsepower, PII introduced the 64-inch RZR Pro XP. No, not 200+HP. But this range of vehicles illustrates new innovation, with a redesigned chassis, higher ground clearance, longer wheel base, bigger suspension, and turbocharged 181HP, the highest HP vehicle the company has ever released. This line represents the first in what should be a multi-year roll-out of redesigned products, with the next introduction anticipated some time later this model year.
“Polaris also introduced a new Ranger 1000 utility vehicle, which replaces the venerable Ranger XP 900 with a myriad of cool upgrades. This is a vehicle that should be well-received by farmers, ranchers, hunters, and other hard working consumers.
“Polaris also introduced two new S class ATVs, which expands on the width, suspension, ground clearance on the Sportsman 1000 rec-ute ATV and the Scrambler sport ATV. While this market may be small, these are going to be the coolest ones in it.
“No new motorcycle or snowmobile models were introduced, though PII did show off its new Indian FTR 1000 motorcycle, which is getting very positive reviews. A newly-redesigned, fully-automatic Slingshot was anticipated to be revealed, but PII is holding off until the dealer channel is cleaned of prior generation product — it is expected by the end of the year.”
