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Motorcycle Business Profile Polaris is entering the motorcycle market with an American-made V-twin cruiser, the Victory V92. Cruisers are one of the fastest-growing segments of the heavyweight motorcycle market, and Victory is designed to create a new niche by combining the styling and power of a traditional cruiser with the superior handling of a sportbike. The retail price of the 1998 Victory cruiser has been set at $12,995, which is competitive with foreign motorcycle manufacturers and well below the American competition. The bike is scheduled to be on showroom floors in late spring of 1998. 1997 Overview We unveiled our first Victory motorcycle in June 1997 and quickly started building awareness. We attended shows and rallies including Sturgis, South Dakota, where Victory received an overwhelmingly positive reception. We also selected an initial group of nearly 200 U.S. motorcycle-oriented Polaris dealers. Highlights from trade press reviews:
Outlook U.S. cruiser sales have nearly doubled in the past five years, to approximately 128,000 units in 1997, and we expect 11 to 15 percent annual growth for the next five years. We'll start with conservative production quantities during the first few years to ensure quality. The first two years of production likely will be snapped up by existing Polaris owners, since a recent survey indicates 30 percent of our owners also own motorcycles, and re-entry customers are a major source of business for the industry. Longer term, as we expand internationally and broaden our line to include models in all four motorcycle segments-cruisers, touring, sportbikes and standards-we expect Victory bike sales to become a significant part of our business. The worldwide motorcycle market is larger than that of sleds or PWC, and Victory bikes will sell at about twice the average price of our other products. |