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rather muted tones . They were clearly shaken personally by the decision .

“ We ’ ve been trying everything we can from a North American snowmobile team perspective to make sure this business can stay within our portfolio ,” said Jaret Smith , Yamaha ’ s snowmobile product manager . “ We ’ ve been working very hard over the last few years here trying to ensure we have something viable and did everything we could to try to save this business .”

Most of the brand ’ s 2024 model lineup has already been built or is currently being built by Textron / Arctic Cat . Therefore , this will have no effect on snowmobiles already ordered by consumers and dealers for this coming winter , explained Bryan Hudgin , Yamaha Canada ’ s director of marketing & brand development .

A 2025 Yamaha lineup will be announced as scheduled early next year . That will be the end for Yamaha snowmobiles in North America . Company officials also set out to assure customers and dealers that parts , service and warranty functions will remain in place even after the whole goods are gone .

Yamaha Snow : Some Context Yamaha ’ s relative level of commitment to the snowmobile market has long been questioned by some snowmobiling insiders . The brand began partnering with rival Arctic Cat in model year 2014 to have that company build most of its performance models .

The closure of Yamaha ’ s Wisconsin R & D facility announced in 2021 raised more eyebrows . Then , when the brand unveiled a 2024 model lineup that included no Yamaha-exclusive utility machines built in Japan , the writing appeared to be on the wall . With few product development people on staff , no unique whole goods that didn ’ t have sister machine from Arctic Cat and market share in the low single digits , survival seemed unlikely . Yamaha officials said they could not comment on the length of time that Yamaha is contractually obligated to provide engines to Arctic Cat / Textron .

Yamaha Snow : Business Decision Hudgin took snowmobile media through the brand ’ s expected frequently asked questions ( FAQs ) to describe the situation .

“ The first and biggest question is why is Yamaha exiting the snowmobile market ,” Hudgin said . “ We regretfully made this decision to focus on higher-volume product groups and increase investment in identified growth markets .”

There were many factors at place . The limited growth in the snowmobile market and Yamaha ’ s relatively small position in that market were certainly important . One big factor that some folks might miss , though , is the demise of snowmobile sales in Russia , Smith said . The Russian market topped 30,000 units as recently as 2014 , and it was growing rapidly . Yamaha had a dominant position in the Russian market , particularly with its VK540 and VK Professional utility snowmobiles . Economic conditions and

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