BRP shocked the ATV industry when it announced it would be moving all ATV production to its Mexican based watercraft facility over the next year.
The question buzzing about the snowmobile industry is inescapable. Will BRP move sled assembly to Mexico? While we think the question deserves asking, we need to look at what makes sense.
First of all, manufacturing of snowmobile parts from all four manufacturers has been taking place offshore for years. We do know from discussions with OEMs who build both ATVs and sleds that ATVs are more expensive to manufacture than snowmobiles.
Retail pricing in the ATV market is fiercely competitive and thus requires intense cost control to maintain profitability. It doesn’t mean snowmobilers are less discriminate about sled pricing; it means ATV profit margins dictate strict attention to production costs. Don’t expect to see any sleds built in Mexico in the near future.
