A Powersports Category Snapshot

SEMA research indicates that more than a third of automotive accessory enthusiasts are likely to own a powersports vehicle. That means the powersports market offers great crossover potential for aftermarket businesses catering to other specialty-equipment segments. So what’s one of the hottest trends in the powersports arena?

The SEMA-commissioned report notes that approximately 670,000 UTV models were sold from 2010 to 2012. This is consistent with other market analyses that have predicted continued healthy growth of the segment through 2015.

The Trucks, SUVs & Off-Road category continues to build momentum, presenting lucrative opportunities for the automotive aftermarket. At the 2013 SEMA Show, the Ford F-Series was named the Show’s Hottest Truck in the annual SEMA Awards, which honor vehicles most often featured by exhibitors in their booths. Once again, the Jeep Wrangler also reigned supreme as the Show’s Hottest 4x4-SUV.

With items ranging from tonneau covers and bedliners to toolboxes, trailer hitches and suspensions, the market covers a wide variety of products and accessories. The following pages feature new Truck, SUV & Off-Road applications that debuted at the 2013 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Along with the products, we’ve interviewed several industry executives for their perspectives on current trends, along with advice for selling into the category.

Preview of a New Report on the Side-by-Side Accessory Marketplace

Spurred by the growth in the number of utility task vehicles (UTVs) over the last decade, SEMA recently released a new report examining the size, types of accessories and accessory purchasing processes involved in this burgeoning powersports segment.

UTVs, also known as side-by-sides, evolved as an offshoot of the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) market. The earliest models were spawned by the need for greater cargo capacity for those who used three- and four-wheel cycles for work tasks on farms, job sites, golf courses and other areas where off-road performance was required but a fullsize pickup was unnecessary or too cumbersome.

The SEMA Show may be well known for project vehicles and special builds, but amazing new products are the stars of the event. In fact, 60,000 buyers and 3,000 media from all over the world traveled to the Las Vegas Convention Center primarily because of the all the new products on display. Reporters were able to find products in specific categories of interest to their audiences, such as truck, SUV and off-road in the case of Truck Trend and Truckin’, or restoration and racing and performance for Modified magazine. No matter the category, reporters had access to hundreds of amazing new products.

After six years of back-and-forth and negotiations that spanned not only the U.S. Congress but also the U.S. military (the Marine Corps, to be precise), a compromise has been negotiated to keep 96,000 acres of land open to off-road enthusiasts in the Johnson Valley OHV area near Twentynine Palms, California.

SEMA and the SEMA Action Network (SAN) worked closely with a number of organizations related to the off-road community to support this provision, which keeps a large portion of the area open to off-road and outdoor enthusiasts while at the same time providing for the needs of the U.S. military. One of SAN’s initiatives is to look for practical solutions to off-road use questions to preserve the rights of the nation’s enthusiast communities. SEMA is gratified that, after six years, a win-win compromise could be enacted to the benefit of all parties involved.

One Company’s Methods May Be a Model for Others

SEMA members are increasingly finding overseas markets and growing their exports, at least in part by taking advantage of resources and opportunities made available through SEMA. Royal Purple is one such company. Last year, international sales of its consumer products grew from almost nothing to around $60,000. Now it is setting its sights much higher.

Strong Growth and Fatter Pocketbooks Warrant a Closer Look at the Potential in Latin America’s Second-Largest Economy

Automotive specialty-equipment manufacturers might want to take a look at selling into Mexico, the second-largest export market for the United States. According to the International Monetary Fund, 85% of the world’s growth—and new customers—over the next five years are located outside the United States, and our neighbor to the South is an increasingly interesting market.

Pickups Are the Latest Craze on the Chinese Off-Road Scene

SEMA News recently traveled to Beijing, China, the center of the Chinese off-road market, to talk to some key players about evolving trends. All of the sources we consulted widely credited the Jeep Wrangler as one of the most exciting and important developments in recent years in growing the off-road market, but they said that pickups are the fastest-growing segment.