November powersports sales flatten, RV outlook improves

November powersports sales saw flat to low-single-digit percentage growth year over year while the outlook for RV sales is “cautiously optimistic” for 2020, according to a report Wells Fargo Securities provided Powersports Finance.

Breaking down the segments, motorcycle sales declined in the low-single-digit percentage. Dual sports bikes grew in the low-single-digit percentage, driven by 250cc-style bikes. Core heavyweight bike retail was down in the mid-single-digit percentage in November due to “softer year-to-date trends,” despite positive growth in October, Senior Analyst Timothy Conder wrote in the report.

Sales of side-by-sides rose in the mid-single-digit percentage, and the momentum is “expected to continue with new product launches, particularly from Polaris and BRP,” Conder said.

Meanwhile, the outlook on RV sales has improved after the vehicles saw “slightly less” decline in November, according to the report. In North America, 448,862 total units were sold through November, 8% lower than in the prior-year period. Dealers will likely take deliveries in smaller and more frequent batches through May 2020 to counterbalance the sales decline this year.

“Our primary concern into 2020 is to what degree retail and wholesale trends will be impacted by the likely ‘political pause ’ in consumer and dealer spending in the summer,” Conder said, referring to the uncertainty of the upcoming presidential election.