EVEN THOUGH THE powersports market was soft last year with most segments declining, there was a bright spot: side-by-sides.
Retail sales for this segment climbed again in 2007, finishing at about 263,000 units, up nearly 11 percent from 2006. The
big winner was Polaris with its highly successful 800 EFI RZR. The manufacturer was the leading supplier of UTVs in North
America in '07, grabbing nearly 20 percent of the market for the golf-and turf-type UTVs.
U.S. sales of mainstream ATVs are in their fourth consecutive year of decline, and while some analysts attribute this to worsening
economic conditions along with Chinese imports that have flooded the market in recent years, another trend is having a significant
impact on large-displacement 4x4 ATV sales. Over the past four years, an increasing number of 50-and-older buyers are trading
in their ATVs and opting for side-by-sides. Surveys conducted by Power Products Marketing indicate that as much as 10 percent
of annual ATV sales are lost to competing side-by-side units.
UTVs encompass a broad number of vehicle types. They can come with an internal combustion engine or be electric-powered. There
are four distinct vehicle types: beefed-up golf car chassis, industrial-type vehicles with heavy-plated steel bodies, mini
pickup trucks typically imported from China, and dedicated turf-type trucks. This last category comprises the majority of
the market. UTVs also can range in payload capacity from as little as 500 lbs. to several thousand pounds.
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Between 2000 and 2002, the North American utility vehicle market struggled just to maintain its overall 100,000-unit level,
as whatever gains were made in the consumer segments of the market during 2001 and 2002 were offset by ongoing declines in
commercial segments (golf courses, resorts and industrial enterprises, for example) which were severely impacted by the recession.
During 2003, the UTV market increased 17 percent to 121,500 units from 103,000 as the U.S. economic recovery kicked in during
the second half of the year after a two-year slump. This growth accelerated another 36 percent to 165,500 units in 2004. The
market topped 200,000 units in 2005 and 237,000 units in 2006. As mentioned earlier, the market jumped last year nearly 11
percent to 263,000 units with turf-type vehicles accounting for nearly 85 percent of the sales and golf-type another 10 percent.
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