News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 2, 2004

Washington, DC—PWIA Statement on Polaris Announcement
that it is Exiting Personal Watercraft Market

Contact:
Elinore Boeke, 202-721-1621
Public Relations Manager, Personal Watercraft Industry Association

Washington, DC—“Today Polaris Industries announced that it will exit the marine market. We are sorry to see them go, and we wish them well. There are many internal business factors that go into what must have been a difficult decision for Polaris, and we do not anticipate that any other PWC manufacturer will follow suit.

“The personal watercraft market is strong, with sales seeing their first annual increase since they peaked in 1995; current annual sales are over 80,000. As PWC have become larger (75 percent of sales are 3-passenger vessels) and cleaner, they are the vessel of choice for American families who find PWC an affordable way to spend time together on the water while being easy to store, transport and maintain.

“Even America’s National Parks are recognizing the technological advances made by PWC manufacturers in terms of reduced sound and emissions; just today, Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Oklahoma became the seventh unit of the National Park system to re-allow personal watercraft based on the results of a positive environmental assessment.”

The Personal Watercraft Industry Association is the trade association representing personal watercraft manufacturers in the U.S.; its members also include BRP (Sea-Doo), Honda (AquaTrax), Kawasaki (JET SKI), and Yamaha (WaveRunner). PWIA is an affiliate of the National Marine Manufacturers Association. More information on personal watercraft is available at www.pwia.org, or by calling 202-721-1621.