26 • August 2024 • Powersports Business

BY JOHN PRUSAK CONTRIBUTING WRITER

After a winter of record warmth and low precipitation across the vast majority of snowstarved North America last season , virtually all observers expected new snowmobile sales to trend downward . Really , the only question was how far south they would slide .

In the U . S ., the numbers were surprisingly decent . In Canada ? They are rather painful to look at . The numbers in European countries also slid slightly , despite decent snow on that side of the Atlantic Ocean . Other parts of the world picked up some sales .

All totaled , snowmobile sales across the planet for the 2024 selling season dipped 9.7 percent to 112,650 units , according to numbers released recently by the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association ( ISMA ) at the annual International Snowmobile Congress . The event was held this year in Green Bay , Wisconsin .

The figures reported by ISMA include sales and delivery of new , model year 2024 snowmobiles plus “ non-current ” new snowmobiles from recent model years retailed during the 2024 sale season . That season went from May 1 , 2023 , to April 30 , 2024 . The figures do not include any spring orders of 2025 snowmobiles .

Looking forward , dealer inventories of unsold new snowmobiles are high , and spring pre-orders this year were sluggish . Therefore , some manufacturers have already announced they are significantly cutting the total number of 2025 units they will build .

SNOWMOBILE SALES DIP IN U . S . Winter got off to a late start across all of the U . S . Snowbelt in the winter of 2023−24 . Some parts of the Mountain West eventually received decent snow . But from the Dakotas

300,000

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50,000 through Michigan , the Upper Midwest was virtually skunked of ridable snow all winter . Plus , most parts of the Northeast suffered their third subpar winter in a row . In fact , historians are struggling to find a winter that compares in terms of warmth and dryness .

Given all of that background , the U . S . sales figures were surprisingly palatable .

Total U . S . new snowmobile sales were 51,987 units . That represents a 2.97 percent decrease over the 53,553 tallied during the 2023 selling season . For context , new snowmobile sales in the U . S . over the past 15 years have averaged 52,963 per year .

“ While the U . S . numbers were down , we could almost completely attribute it to lack of snow ,” explained longtime ISMA President Ed Klim , who is retiring and handing the reigns of the organization over to Jaret Smith . “ There ’ s not much you can do when it doesn ’ t snow .”

In the U . S ., the Midwest accounted for 42 percent of total sales , while the West contributed 38 percent and the Northeast notched 20 percent , ISMA reported . Snowmobile registrations sat at a solid 1,214,253 in the U . S ., which represents a four percent decrease . But considering all of the anecdotal reports of folks not even registering their sleds last year due to winter ’ s late arrival , Klim says the numbers are decent .

“ Overall , that ’ s not a bad decline considering how poor the snow conditions were ,” Klim says . “ I look at this as an optimistic outlook . It ’ s still pretty upbeat as an industry . People want to go snowmobiling , but it ’ s got to snow ! So , start doing your snow dance now .”

With the horrible ( by snowmobilers ’ standpoint ) winter that was experienced , most knowledgeable industry observers ( dealers , aftermarket vendors , investor researchers ) were expecting far more dire numbers . Those sort of figures , though , were reserved for north of the international border .

WORLDWIDE SNOWMOBILE SALES

Worldwide 1980-PRESENT

Snowmobile Sales , 1980-Present

SNOWMOBILE SALES UP NORTH ? OH CANADA !

In Canada , sales of new snowmobiles plummeted to their second lowest number since 1986 . The country reported 38,599 new units sold compared to 48,252 a year earlier . That ’ s a dramatic 20 percent fall-off and the fewest annual sales reported in Canada since 37,670 new snowmobiles were retailed in model year 2010 .

As in the U . S ., lack of snowfall was the main factor , particularly in parts of Quebec and Ontario . Those provinces make up the majority of snowmobile sales in the country . Incoming ISMA President Jaret Smith , though , informed us of another factor : a larger impact of higher interest rates due to the differences in ways folks finance homes in Canada vs . the U . S .

Eastern Canada accounted for 44 percent of total sales . Thirty-six percent were attributed to the center of the country and 20 percent to the West .

United States Canada Europe / Other

© Snow Goer magazine , data from the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association

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LA NIÑA The National Weather Service ( NWS ) favors La Niña to develop between July and September 2024 , with an 85 % chance of it continuing into the Northern Hemisphere winter . La Niña can cause colder than normal water temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean , which can lead to colder air in the winter .

TEMPERATURE Weather . com predicts a warmer and drier winter in the South , and a colder winter in the Northern Plains . SnowBrains . com predicts colder than average temperatures in the Pacific Northwest , but warmer temperatures in some areas of the Rocky Mountains .

PRECIPITATION Weather . com predicts a wetter winter in the Pacific Northwest . While SnowBrains . com predicts higher than normal precipitation in the Pacific Northwest , and potentially good snow conditions in some areas of the Rocky Mountains

The 12-Month Long-Range Weather Report From The 2024 Old Farmer ’ s Almanac : Winter will be colder than normal , with above-normal precipitation and snowfall . The coldest spells will occur in late December , early January , and late January through mid-February .