US maker says it’s all over for Victory Motorcycles
Polaris Industries, which is the American outfit behind Victory Motorcycles and Indian Motorcycle, has announced that it will immediately begin closure of the Victory brand.
Polaris will assist dealers in liquidating existing inventories while continuing to supply parts for a period of 10 years, along with providing service and warranty coverage to Victory dealers and owners. The decision does not affect any other Polaris brands, including Indian. It claims this is all about failing to grab the market share needed to be profitable.
Victory has been around for 18 years, but global sales were only running at just over 10,000 units. The process of winding-up the business starts immediately, and is expected to be completed in 18 months. All Victory patents, technologies and intellectual property remain the property of parent company Polaris, which means that Indian and other parts of the business, will benefit from the research and development Victory undertook.
From today’s announcement: “This was an incredibly difficult decision for me, my team and the Polaris Board of Directors,” said Polaris Industries Chairman and CEO Scott Wine. “Over the past 18 years, we have invested not only resources, but our hearts and souls, into forging the Victory Motorcycles brand, and we are exceptionally proud of what our team has accomplished. Since inception, our teams have designed and produced nearly 60 Victory models that have been honored with 25 of the industry’s top awards. The experience, knowledge, infrastructure and capability we’ve built in those 18 years gave us the confidence to acquire and develop the Indian Motorcycle brand, so I would like to express my gratitude to everyone associated with Victory Motorcycles and celebrate your many contributions.”
