#Polaris

Photo courtesy Rusty Baptist @ UTVUnderground.com

Polaris has announced its 2015 off-road race teams, which will be competing in the Grand National Cross Country series (GNCC), World Off-Road Championship series (WORCS), Best in the Desert (BITD), SCORE International, Lucas Off-Road Regional Racing Series (LORRS), and Mud racing.

Polaris has expanded its RZR race team for 2015 and will continue to field a Scrambler race team in GNCC. As well, Polaris will continue to offer its ATV and Side-by-Side contingency and reimbursement program and has added a racer discount program for experienced racers on select models, including the Polaris ACE which a few racing series have added for the 2015 racing season.

Polaris Industries Inc. plans to build a new production facility in Huntsville, Ala. According Polaris, the new facility will provide additional capacity and flexibility as the company continues to grow.

Located Southwest of Huntsville City Center, the 600,000 square-foot facility will focus on off-road vehicle production. The 453-acre Huntsville site offers Polaris close proximity to its key customer base in the Southeast U.S. and strong logistics network.

Polaris has beefed up its ATV and UTV accessories division with the purchase of LSI Products Inc. and Armor Holdings, LLC (Pro Armor). These companies design, develop, manufacture, source, sell and distribute accessories for performance Side-by-Side vehicles and ATV markets under the Pro Armor brand. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Polaris has announced the grand opening of its new manufacturing facility in Opole, Poland. The 345,000-square-foot facility is the first Polaris plant dedicated to manufacturing Off-Road Vehicles outside of North America.

Employee training has already begun at the Opole facility, which will employ 300 people in 2015 and should begin shipments to customers in the first quarter of 2015. The plant will produce approximately 35 different ORV vehicle models in 2015 and ship them to six subsidiaries and over thirty distributors in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”) region. Opole will also house research and design for the Europe, Middle East and Africa markets allowing vehicles to be tailored to local needs.

MB Quart, a brand of Maxxsonics USA, has entered an agreement with Polaris to offer new audio accessories for select Polaris off-road vehicles.

MB Quart has been designing audio products for use in home, mobile and marine for more than 50 years. Audio accessories such as a jointly-developed wireless, waterproof Bluetooth audio system will be available at nationwide Polaris dealerships for select vehicles starting this September.

Polaris has donated a customized pink RZR XP 1000 to the American Cancer Society as part of its Making Strides Against Breast Cancer campaign.

“Too many of us have been affected by cancer, whether through a personal battle or an afflicted neighbor, co-worker or family member,” says Scott Wine, Polaris’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “The American Cancer Society works tirelessly toward the eradication of this dreaded disease, and we hope that, through this donation, we can help them raise the funds needed to continue this noble fight.”

Polaris Industries Inc. has acquired Kolpin Outdoors, Inc., a Wisconsin-based company that builds ATV and UTV accessories. This acquisition adds Kolpin to Polaris’ growing parts, garments and accessories (PG&A) business. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Acquiring Kolpin Outdoors, Inc. creates a multitude of growth opportunities for our PG&A business, which is a key contributor to Polaris’ top-line growth and profitability,” says Steve Eastman, Polaris’ vice president of PG&A. “Kolpin is a trusted brand among ORV riders, hunters, outdoorsmen, and landowners who value the quality and reliability Kolpin builds into their powersports accessories. Their lineup of exceptional products and deep consumer and retail relationships will help Polaris expand our aftermarket accessories portfolio and enhance our traditional and online distribution channels. ”

Polaris Industries has initiated a recall of the Ranger 500 EFI and the four-seater Ranger Crew 500 EFI because of a risk of the throttle cable melting. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, heat from the exhaust pipe may damage the cable, causing a loss of throttle control. Polaris has received one report of a throttle failing to return to idle after accelerating. The operator lost control and was thrown from the Ranger, scraping a shin.

Polaris has announced a partnership with Ariens Company, a manufacturer of snowblowers, lawnmowers and other outdoor power equipment. In business for 80 years, Ariens sells products under Ariens, Gravely and other brands.

According to Polaris, both companies will benefit from this partnership, growing through exposure to adjacent markets while fostering innovation through shared technology and R&D investments.

While the Polaris Ranger family is best known as work-oriented, Polaris may be trying to change that view with its newest addition – the Ranger XP 900 Deluxe. With this Ranger, Polaris is hoping to appeal to consumers looking for a UTV that can work and play.

Polaris Industries has been awarded a contract to provide MV850 ultra-light tactical vehicles to the German Army.

“Defense forces around the world are seeking Polaris Defense Military vehicles to take advantage of our ability to make modifications to our commercial off-the-shelf technology, insert customer requirements and quickly deliver an end product that meets their needs,” says Rich Haddad, general manager of Polaris Defense. “It is our goal to match the warfighter’s mission requirements with our best value product.”

BRP may have been the first to break the 100-horsepower barrier with the Can-Am Maverick 1000, but it looks like Polaris will take it a step further with the not-yet-announced 2014 RZR XP 1000.

Polaris has released no information about the new RZR XP 1000 – it was the United States Environmental Protection Agency who let that cat out of the bag and Polaris is none too pleased about it. The EPA released its 2014 test results earlier this month, which showed that Polaris had submitted a 999cc RZR XP 1000 and RZR XP 4 1000 for testing. Power output was listed at 80 kilowatts, which translates to a whopping 107 horsepower. The EPA has since deleted the information (likely at Polaris’ request), but you can see it here (check out lines 134 and 135 in particular).

For those who don’t want to download the file, we’ve captured the pertinent info in this screenshot (expandable when you click on it).

Read our Polaris RZR XP 900 Long Term Review

Polaris, in cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), has issued a recall of the 2011 Polaris RZR XP 900 due to a burn hazard.

According to the recall notice, the firewall between the driver and passenger seats can overheat and melt. The CPSC has received one report of an incident involving a consumer who received burn injuries to a finger.

This recall involves only 2011 model Polaris Ranger RZR XP 900 models (about 4,500) – the first model year of Polaris’ popular sport UTV.

Polaris has donated 10 military, off-road vehicles with a combination of Run-Flat and Non-Pneumatic Tires (NPT) to enhance The Salvation Army’s ability to transport food, water and other critical supplies to survivors, in Moore, Okla. The units were delivered from Polaris’ Osceola, Wis. plant, free of charge, thanks to a generous donation from Bay and Bay Transport and Overbye Trucking.

“With debris on the ground from thousands of destroyed homes, these vehicles will allow us to serve in places our mobile kitchens cannot,” said Lt. Col. Robert Thomson, Salvation Army Northern Division Commander. “We thank Polaris for this incredible gift. These vehicles will allow us to serve more people in crisis.”

The donated units, a combination of military ATV, Ranger and RZR vehicles, are outfitted with either Run Flat tires or NPTs to prevent down time. Run-Flat tires resist the effects of deflation when punctured, giving the operator the ability to continue to use the vehicle; and NPTs are built to never go flat and are virtually indestructible.

Polaris continued its torrid sales pace in the first quarter of 2013 with net sales of $745.9 million, an increase of eleven percent from last year’s first quarter sales of $673.8 million.

“We are pleased that consumers and enthusiasts around the world continued to make Polaris their brand and product of choice during the first quarter of 2013. While Off-Road Vehicles (“ORVs”) and motorcycles faced challenging 2012 comparisons, we were again able to outpace the industry and increase market share in both product lines,” says Scott Wide, Polaris’ chairman and CEO. “Our snowmobile business also generated strong retail sales and market share growth during the first quarter.

“During the quarter, we also launched the highly anticipated Polaris Brutus and Bobcat utility vehicles, co-developed with Bobcat. We are pleased with the vehicles’ performance and the initial market reaction from dealers and customers has been positive. Shipments to both the Bobcat and Polaris’ new commercial channels will begin in April.”