OEM promotions in January were primarily focused on 2019 side-by-sides, with Polaris, BRP and Honda offering more aggressive offers, according to a report BMO Capital Markets provided to Powersports Finance.
Polaris’ “New Year’s Sales Event” started Jan. 1, with aggressive offers for most of its side-by-side and snowmobile lineup. Incentives were primarily focused on rebates for the RZR and General models. Prior year RZRs were offered with a $3,500 rebate, compared with $2,000 YoY, while prior year Generals had a $1,200 rebate, compared with $1,000 the same time the prior year.
There was no change year over year, with finance incentives as both current and prior model years were offered with 3.99% APR.
BRP was also offering higher rebates on most of its prior year side-by-sides, in addition to a two-year warranty. The Commander had a $750 rebate, compared with $500 last year; the Defender was offered with $1,500 rebate, compared with $800 the same time the prior year; and the Maverick X3 had a $3,000 rebate, compared with $1,500 YoY.
“We believe BRP’s promotional strategy continues to help it gain share as its retail trends outpace the industry,” Gerrick Johnson, an analyst at BMO, wrote in the report.
Like Polaris and BRP, Honda was aggressive with rebates. Prior model year side-by-sides had a rebate of up to $1,400, compared with 0.0% financing for 12 months and a $1,000 rebate YoY.
