Update: Yamaha 2019, How Is It Going?
When SledMagazine.com and Motoneiges.ca Editors met at Yamaha snow team headquarters in Toronto Canada last January, Yamaha officials presented their strategy for 2019 and asked for our partnership in positively presenting their initiatives to our readers. Reader reactions varied.
Exclusive Spring Power Surge only models, limited in season model availability, all with the primary goal of reducing non-current inventory and maintaining the value of non-currents as well as the used sled values for current Yamaha owners.
If you missed our Yamaha 2019 – LEANER & MEANER article published 3/6/18, here it is.
Their plan seemed dynamic and reasonable. For the overall health and good of our sport, We were more than hopeful that if aggressively executed these strategies could strengthen and prepare Yamaha for something bigger and better in the future.
Just like you, we read and hear the opinions of many fellow snowmobilers on the trails, on the street and across many snowmobile forums. Many countered Yamaha’s stated goals for 2019 with “it could also be a near perfect exit plan.”
Years ago on “60 minutes” the widely known weekly investigative reports/news magazine TV program, there was a segment called “point, counter point”. We thought that it would be interesting to “point, counter point” and fact check what is on the minds, said and written by many snowmobilers.
(photo, close LTX LE)
We wanted to give our readers a real-time update on how Yamaha 2019 is going? We recently cranked up the land line and had a conference call with two highly placed officials at Yamaha Snowmobile. This is what they had to say, in response to questions, perceptions and skeptical reviews.
We started with the anticipated higher visibility promotions that many anticipated to maximize the emphasis that was being placed on Limited Edition “Spring Power Surge” success. Many expressed that they didn’t see any additional promotion and wonder out loud how SPS 19 went. When we asked this question, we were told that the 2019 Spring Power Surge sales successfully and significantly exceeded Yamaha’s goals.
2019 pre-season sales were said to be at the highest level since the wildly popular SideWinder models were first introduced three years ago with the newest SRX model leading the way. Yamaha confirmed their commitment to firmly hold the line on LE models only being available during the Spring Power Surge promotion.
If you didn’t buy an LE model during Spring Power Surge 2019, you are very likely not to see or get one off a showroom floor.
Next, we turned to limited 2019 in season SE models. Dealers and Snowmobilers have remarked and noted that not many 2019 SE’s are or will be showing up at dealers. Dealers who may have wanted to carry a larger in season inventory were significantly limited to how many units would be made available to them. Our “in the know” Yamaha contacts explained that the success of Spring Power Surge reduced the number of SideWinder motors that would be available to build “in season” 2019 SE models. With the lead time needed in the supply chain of engine components and manufacturing, X amount of available engines equals X amount of total new sleds using that engine. A good problem to have, but still a problem.
As far as the focus on non-current inventory levels, many including ourselves envisioned an advertising blitz and a non-current inventory database through which each dealer would have constantly updated access to the pool of available NON 2019 models. In this way many thought that Yamaha dealers could effectively encourage buyer’s appetite for what was available and encourage immediate purchase action to get it.
It turns out that it was not quite this easy. Yamaha officials fine-tuned these assumptions with the fact that most of the non-current inventory was already in the hands of Yamaha dealers and not centralized with Yamaha. The Yamaha system in place to get access to an already delivered non-current model is through an inter dealership lookup system with a transfer bonus for successful matches. While this seems a little less than optimum to many, Yamaha says that the sales of new pre-2019 units is going very well. They also re-affirmed that by not having to slash non-current prices due to any over production in 2019, Yamaha’s goal of protecting used Yamaha market values is working, making it easier for previous Yamaha owners to trade up.
The other positive that can be taken from our interview is that all of our contacts at Yamaha continue to answer their phones. If the doom and gloom forecasted by many was a reality, it would seem that at least a few of these very talented people would seek an alternate professional direction.
According to our historically reliable Yamaha sources, Yamaha 2019 is very much on track in reaching the goals set forth. And in about 100 days we can tell everyone exactly what Yamaha 2020 will look like.
We are assured that it will be noteworthy. Maybe a new breed of Yamaha chassis, suspensions, model or the return of Yamaha 2 stroke power availability is just around the corner. How might the Textron/Arctic Cat partnership evolve? Time will reveal all, stay tuned!
