Sea-doo to focus on green machines, drawing in new customers

The virus brought BRP Inc. an unexpected windfall, with throngs of first-time customers riding out the pandemic on Seadoos, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles.

It’s betting that greener machines can help sustain the growth.

The Canadian powersports manufacturer plans to introduce a broad lineup of electricpowered products within the next three years, CEO Jose Boisjoli said in a video interview with Bloomberg. The move is critical to expanding the company’s appeal to climate-conscious consumers.

“It’s not a question of if electrification will happen in powersports, it’s a question of when,” Boisjoli said. “Since COVID-19, we’re having the question a lot.”

BRP’S U.S. shares closed Thursday 33 per cent higher than a year ago and 389 per cent above their pandemic low in March. Replenishing depleted inventories will lift industry revenue for a while, but analysts wonder what will happen to demand when the pandemic is over, economies reopen and other recreational opportunities are available.

In several surveys last year, BRP found that about onethird of its buyers were new to the industry. The number is usually 20 per cent, Boisjoli said.

“We have a surge of new customers that we never dreamed of,” he said. “We see that as an opportunity, as a positive thing. And right now we are focusing a lot to talk to new customers to make sure we make them lifetime customers.”

BRP is based in Valcourt, the Quebec town where Josepharmand Bombardier started building snowmobiles in the 1930s. It was sold by Bombardier Inc. in 2003, went public in 2013 and has a market value of $5.9 billion, far surpassing its former parent. Bain Capital, one of the 2003 buyers, still owned a 20 per cent stake as of a regulatory filing last April.

One relatively new BRP initiative is focused on attracting more women to an industry that still caters primarily to male consumers.

It’s gained traction with its three-wheel vehicles, which are more stable and easier to drive than motorcycles and sold under the Can-am brand. One in three buyers is a woman, the company says.

Now the company is trying to foster a community of female users, with a dedicated Can-am mentorship program that debuted last year. In a private Facebook group with about 7,000 members, women can ask questions, share tips and suggest rides.

The electric vehicle strategy is aimed at appealing to a demographic that’s outside of BRP’S traditional base — city-dwellers. When presenting prototypes in 2019, the company included two electric models of two-wheelers, targeting urban residents.

Electric vehicles accounted for 30 per cent of two-wheeler sales in the world in 2019, a share that’s set to grow to 77 per cent in 2040, according to research by Bloombergnef.

BRP will ultimately offer an electric alternative for its entire fleet of products, Boisjoli said. And it’s learning from its past mistakes.

“We’ve evolved through our history from one technology to the other,” he said. “It will be a natural evolution to go from combustion engine to electrification.”