Indian facing headwinds

mikesim

mikesim

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Polaris just announced that they are divesting themselves of the majority of shares in Indian Motorcycles. The majority of ther shares are being acquired by Carolwood LP of Los Angeles a private equity firm. Carolwood's principals Andrew Shanfeld and Adam Rubin empahsized that they are interested in preserving Indian's legacy while accelerating it's growth in the industry. They have appointed Mike Kennedy, a former Harley/Vance & Hines exec as CEO. They are retaining 900 Inidian employees and their manufacturing plants in Minnesota and Iowa. As a point of reference, Indian's 2024 sales were 25792 units vs HD's 151,000 with both firms experiencing decling sales since 2022.

After Polaris abandonment of Victory and now Indian, I am not too optimistic about their future prospects. I think any dealer would be chary of the marque due to it's past history of leaving it's dealers and customers hanging. Their existing bikes have not been selling well as evidenced by their 2024 sales and their market niche (along with Harley) has been moribund at best. I doubt that Carolwood has deep enough pockets or the inclination to gamble on significant new product development in the hope that Indian can hit paydirt with new product.

I hope my initial gut feeling is wrong as I had high hopes for Victory and then Indian and would like to see a viable market for bikes produced here in the US.

Mike
 
mikesim said:
Polaris just announced that they are divesting themselves of the majority of shares in Indian Motorcycles. The majority of ther shares are being acquired by Carolwood LP of Los Angeles a private equity firm. Carolwood's principals Andrew Shanfeld and Adam Rubin empahsized that they are interested in preserving Indian's legacy while accelerating it's growth in the industry. They have appointed Mike Kennedy, a former Harley/Vance & Hines exec as CEO. They are retaining 900 Inidian employees and their manufacturing plants in Minnesota and Iowa. As a point of reference, Indian's 2024 sales were 25792 units vs HD's 151,000 with both firms experiencing decling sales since 2022.

After Polaris abandonment of Victory and now Indian, I am not too optimistic about their future prospects. I think any dealer would be chary of the marque due to it's past history of leaving it's dealers and customers hanging. Their existing bikes have not been selling well as evidenced by their 2024 sales and their market niche (along with Harley) has been moribund at best. I doubt that Carolwood has deep enough pockets or the inclination to gamble on significant new product development in the hope that Indian can hit paydirt with new product.

I hope my initial gut feeling is wrong as I had high hopes for Victory and then Indian and would like to see a viable market for bikes produced here in the US.

Mike
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Saw this story in the WSJ. I agree with your assessment.
 
Big part of Indian's heritage is how frequently the brand has changed hands. So when they say they want to "keep the heritage", I'm assuming this new group will be selling it not too long from now.
 
I believe that motorcycles are on the way out regardless of brand. Young people have little interest in them and the cost of new bikes is very high. I also believe the manufactures are not very interested in making smaller bikes and affordable bikes. How many riders out there my age or around my age have given up their bikes due the the worry about riding a heavy bike.
 
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My son has had an Indian for a couple of years. I have ridden bikes since 1966. Have I ridden his In Indian? Nope. It weighs almost as much as my RAV4.

I'll stick to my SlingShot. I have to wonder how long Polaris will keep them going.
 
cliffh said:
I believe that motorcycles are on the way out regardless of brand. Young people have little interest in them and the cost of new bikes is very high. I also believe the manufactures are not very interested in making smaller bikes and affordable bikes. How many riders out there my age or around my age have given up their bikes due the the worry about riding a heavy bike.
Click to expand...
I felt the same way. Even though Honda set record global motorcycle sales in 2024 (increases in India/other places), American sales are declining (I think).
I stumbled into looking at a Grom for hanging off the back of my class C motorhome. What I found was the minmoto class of motorcycles has quite a following.
These small bikes have many affordable modifications and parts are inexpensive. I was looking at the Grom as it is the lightest of the group and has a traditional drive train with clutch and transmission. I don't know if there is a surge in young people buying these, but there are all sorts of groups.
You meet the nicest people ...
 
suvcw04 said:
My son has had an Indian for a couple of years. I have ridden bikes since 1966. Have I ridden his In Indian? Nope. It weighs almost as much as my RAV4.

I'll stick to my SlingShot. I have to wonder how long Polaris will keep them going.
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I believe Polaris is doing quite well in the ATV and the Snowmobile business.
 
coaster said:
I believe Polaris is doing quite well in the ATV and the Snowmobile business.
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My musing was about how long Polaris will keep the SlingShot around. I'm sure that Polaris itself will be around for a long time.
 
In my neck of the woods, I see more Slingshots than Indians.

Mike
 
mikesim said:
In my neck of the woods, I see more Slingshots than Indians.

Mike
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Missouri is a great state for SlingShot rides. So is Northeast Iowa from Decorah north to Minnesota or east to the Mississippi, then into Wisconsin. Every year, the ride from Lansing IA to Prairie du Chien WI to the apple orchards of Gays Mills calls us. Can't cross at Lansing anymore. The old iron bridge is being blown up today to make way for a new bridge which won't open for at least two years. So, it's either Prairie or up to Lacrosse.
 
Yesterday, Indian officially changed hands and is now under the custody of Carolwood LP. I am not optimistic about Indian's future prospects. It remains to be seen how deep Carolwood's pockets are and how loyal Indian's dealers remain. I think the answers to those questions are, not deep and not very. I hope I am wrong but I forsee Indian fading off into the sunset in less than three years.

Mike
 
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