Spring is officially over for the wholesale powersports market. After last year’s lackluster spring and sprinkle of summer demand, spring 2014 reflected fresh optimism and better inventory management by powersports dealers.
June’s results illustrate the start of the natural decline that is felt each summer as consumer behavior shifts from buying in the spring to riding in the summer, while the scents of next year’s models begin to waft through the air. We expect the coming months to continue to follow the seasonal trends of previous years, with additional seasonal wholesale price declines of 5-10 percent through the summer months.
Wholesale volumes will decline through the summer as well, though we believe supply will remain more stable than last year due to slightly better repossession volumes and smarter inventory management and pricing among consigning dealers.
By The Numbers
On-highway categories saw a small dip in Average Wholesale Pricing (AWP) year-over-year for June. Domestic cruisers were down from last year by one percent, while both metric cruisers and sport bikes decreased by four percent. Off-road AWP was a mixed bag compared to last year – ATV’s increased seven percent while the MX category and Side-X-Sides mirrored each other with a three percent decline.
When we compare June to the past three months we also see decreases across all but one category. Metric cruisers saw the biggest drop for the on-highway categories with a 13 percent decrease from May while the domestic cruisers and sport bikes saw single digit declines. Off-highway categories also saw similar declines with the MX category seeing the biggest drop at 15 percent.
The increase for the snow category was off the charts for June with a 42 percent increase in AWP, which is directly related to limited inventory available for purchase at auction this year and last year’s low comparables.
All data provided by National Powersport Auctions. For more information, please visit www.npauctions.com or call 888.292.5339.
