If the Coronavirus crisis has had a positive influence, it is in the sales of new and used quads. Just visit a dealership to see the effects. Empty showroom, empty used car dealerships and a very long delivery time if you buy a new quad. There is indeed a scarcity of quads for sale !
On sales sites like Marketplace, Kijiji or Les Pacs, we notice quickly the scarcity of quads for sale. Indeed, you can see that the machines offered are flying off the shelves like hotcakes. Even older machines are selling for a high price. If you’re looking for a new quad at a good price, good luck!
When you look beyond the world of quads, you see the same trend. Motorcycles, watercraft, snowmobiles, pickup trucks, SUVs… anything with an engine is hard to find.
The causes of the scarcity of quads for sale
What’s causing this situation? Going back to the spring of 2020, many vehicle assembly facilities have slowed or stopped production altogether. This is because Covid cases among their employees, as well as sanitary measures, were greatly reducing their output. Secondly, manufacturers had supply problems. Indeed, production at suppliers was also affected. Thus, the supply was greatly reduced.
On the other hand, many people had to start working from home. They could not go to events, travel at will, eat at restaurants… Most people had fewer expenses and were looking for activities to do close to home. Many turned to ATVs. They invaded the dealerships to acquire their own vehicle. The demand exploded.
Thus, the balance between supply and demand was broken and more than a year later, we are still in the middle of it! Dealers are scrambling to get as many units as possible. Manufacturers are trying to supply, but many parts such as electronic chips are in short supply. Nothing is going right…
Buyers of new quads must be patient…. Very patient! Delivery times are in the order of several months in most cases.
No more inventories of non-current models
One of the big advantages of the scarcity of quads for sale is that all models find buyers. For dealers as well as manufacturers, non-current models sold very quickly in 2020. Thus, they were able to recover the amounts that were dormant in inventory and thus be able to benefit from greater liquidity during the Covid period.
For the industry, it’s major “RESET”. Indeed, all new units are now current models. Manufacturers no longer have to make big promotions in order to lower their inventories and this helps to strengthen the value of used vehicles. Everyone aside from the bargain hunters wins!
New enthusiasts
Another great benefit of this situation is the number of new enthusiasts that are joining the ATV community. The number of quad registrations has almost exploded. The sale of trail access rights has increased significantly in 2020. This trend will continue in 2021.
There are many new ATV riders with little or no experience on the trails. The challenge is to inform and educate them so that they are aware of the laws and regulations in effect. They need to understand that just because they are “all-terrain” vehicles does not mean they can go anywhere. Even if there are many places where you can’t ride a quad, there is also a lot of territory to discover legally.
Experienced ATV riders must be patient and forgiving of those who are not yet familiar with the sport. We can inform them, suggest little tricks, interesting destinations and even guide them in certain situations. In many cases, these newcomers represent the future of our sport.
When will we see a return to normal?
For the moment, it’s hard to predict when the supply of new vehicles will be sufficient to satisfy consumer demand. It may take several more months, or even one or two years, before the scarcity of quads for sale fades away. However, the balance will eventually be back in place.
Once the current sales and those of the next few months are filled, we should see a decrease in demand. Indeed, anyone who wanted to buy a vehicle or upgrade theirs will have made the move. Everyone expects the market to stabilize, including the manufacturers. It would not be surprising to see manufacturers significantly reduce their production for a while.
It is possible that available new vehicles will spend more time in showrooms in the next few years. So there should be a dip, for a while, right after the historic highs that have been reached in recent months.
What if?
There is one element that could shake things up in this scenario though… I’m talking about hybrid and even electric powered models. Yes, as we know, several companies are working on this type of “greener” vehicle. Depending on their selling price, these could be attractive to a certain category of quad riders.
Depending on the availability and the enthusiasm of the ATV community, the anticipated dip could be less pronounced than expected. It will be interesting to follow the arrival of these new propulsion technologies in the market.
In the meantime, let’s enjoy our activity!
