Pennsylvania ATV Sales Statistics for the first half of 2002

New York pulled in third place with a strong showing of 38,672 units sold, a very strong showing may I ad being that there are few legal riding opportunities endorsed by the state. Yet these riders seem very determined to support there sport despite the states politicians steeling almost all the registrations receipts earmarked to pay for ATV trail and forest management opportunities. Driving riders confidence into the basement leading to few registration renewals or trust of NY riders in their current system administration.

The lone star state of Texas reported in 2nd place with 48,795 unit sales, with new riding areas popping up and a strong chain of dealers that support the thriving hunting camping and fishing sportsman in this area, we can expect to see more Texas based ATV enthusiasts emerge.

And the number one state in ATV sales is, the golden state of California chiming in with 52,310 new unit sales, it seems a strange ironic twist (to this editor) of fate that the largest sales of ATV's in the nation is in a state where so called (adams family) fester style enviro/antiaccess groups lurch at any form of foot print off the grid locked freeways.

It's groups like these that in the last couple years shut down many of the coal fired power plants in the state in the cry for clean air, while the rest of the state awoke wondering why they were in the dark, or paying 8 times market price for electricity. Yet riders and dealers banned together under the rallying cry of common sense and returned a dose of demographic reality to a green lobby stricken, analysis paralysis state government yielding that even in the toughest environmental state, new riding areas are opening and expanding.

Some of my friends in the industry have been expressing concern that the ATV market has finally "matured" and reached a saturation point. Naturally, the business press is quick to relay any hint of doom and gloom. Even Don Brown's Index indicates ATV new-unit sales have slipped to single digit growth. "Stick a fork in it; the market is done!" crowed one financial know-it-all.

This ATV/Dirtbike report is based on analysis of available retail sales data through June. These state-by-state totals are forecast figures through calendar year 2002, and include year-on-year comparisons rather than a running total of individual monthly sales. These sales figures include ATVs and non-registered off-road motorcycles only.

Done indeed! In a pig's eye... While Harley-Davidson's 20% increase in Hog sales is certainly welcome news, my motorcycle only dealer friends sometimes lose sight of exactly how strong the ATV market really is. Take Harley, add Honda's +18% motorcycle sales increase and Yamaha's +14% gain, and you still don't get close to how many ATVs are being sold. Heck, even after you throw in KTM's phenomenal 38% increase, Victory's 30% YTD growth and Ducati's 25% boost, ATVs still continue to outsell all streetbikes combined by some 90,000 units!

Despite a slump to "only" 9% growth, ATV sales are still projected to top 796,000 units in 2002. The dealers and aftermarket folks catering to this niche are still living plenty high on the hog regardless of the slop some members of the financial press have been dishing out lately. Adding to the equation is the fact that the used-unit population doesn't seem to be diminishing any (many ATVs have been in use for 10+ years, according to some OEM estimates). There are literally millions of older ATVs still in use, still needing replacement tires, new winches, gun scabbards, etc.

"While we're still seeing a fair number of first-time buyers, we are seeing a lot more multiple ATV households," explains Yamaha ATV product line manager Mike Martinez. The primary user will move up to a new model like Yamaha's Kodiak 450 and pass the existing machine on to someone else in the family, he says. Good news for everyone in the ATV arena, especially the aftermarket.

Speaking of the aftermarket, there are more new accessories, add-ons and other goodies flooding the market every day. "What we are seeing is a broadening of the existing niches and the creation of new ones," notes Cannondale director Scott Montgomery. Based on this belief, Cannondale created a sand dune-specific model called the Glamis. With a $8,295 MSRP, that seems like a pretty high rent district for such a niche-specific machine... Of course, Cannondale also sees the need for $10,000+ race-ready quads!

Big bucks are still being generated by the ATV business - and still being blithely ignored by some die-hard "motorcycle" dealers. While the ATV market may have grown up a little in the years since the CPSC all but killed it, we certainly haven't matured! If anything, the OEMs' renewed interest in sport machines - like the Suzuki Z400, or the new offerings from Arctic Cat and Polaris - and the ever-increasing number of kids quads entering the market have us getting younger by the minute.

ATVs aren't a mature market, but they may be the powersports equivalent of the Fountain Of Youth the way they continue to revitalize this business...

It really shouldn't come as a surprise to hear that ATV sales are forecast to be up again this year. After all, the industry has been cashing in on nine consecutive years of double-digit growth.

While their numbers guru Don Brown is hedging his bet by calling for "only" a 9.26% gain this year, we're still talking about 796,000+ new units here.
Actually, the number of new units is considerably higher.

Brown bases his ATV prognostications on the Japanese Big Four, Arctic Cat, Bombardier and Polaris sales, but does not take into account the host of smaller ATV manufacturers
like Panda, STR Motorsports and Sundiro, or the upstart Cannondale line.

Then there are other oddities like the ARGO eight-wheelers and Kawasaki's Mules that get lumped into this segment. Factor all these players into the equation, and the ATV market easily approaches 1 million units!

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