Is Evinrude done?

[rangerranger]

Of course they say they will supply parts and honor warranties but the practical realities will be much different in a few years. Any warranty items that may be in the gray area will be declined. Parts supply will be poor. Are they really going to have inventory to replace blown powerheads 5-7 years from now? Will there really be techs available? Not many will want to train on obsolete motors. Dealers won’t want the hassle of dealing with a defunct brand. BRP may easily find it less expensive to eventually settle a class action warranty suit than honor the warranties. And if so much of that will go to attorneys, not the guys who bought their motors. Not much any of us can do now other than enjoy our motors and hope things work out for the long term, but based on a 40 year corporate management career I'm pretty skeptical.

[yam911]

I'm glad I bypassed a foreign brand to help an american company this past summer.......

What foreign brand did you bypass?

Yamaha? Suzuki? Evinrude? Honda?

[Casslaw]

To me it’s sad for a couple of reasons. I truly love my little Etec and fully intended in getting a G2 in my next rig. Also, the history is just dying. Even though I was raised on Mercury I loved the XP150, it just sounded mean when I was a kid. I actually enjoy seeing different brands on the water.

Then theres the technology! The last great performing, most technological 2 stroke. Just sucks.

[Chainslinger1959]

Yes it is a sad day .

[Bassin Bob71]

To me it’s sad for a couple of reasons. I truly love my little Etec and fully intended in getting a G2 in my next rig. Also, the history is just dying. Even though I was raised on Mercury I loved the XP150, it just sounded mean when I was a kid. I actually enjoy seeing different brands on the water.

Then theres the technology! The last great performing, most technological 2 stroke. Just sucks.

Those old XP, Intruder, Fast Strike 150's did sound great. I had a '93 150 FS that was a great motor. This is very sad news for the Evinrude faithful

[Thorny]

(Copy of my post from the General Topics board.)

Thinking a little more on this, it's a perfect example of a "death by a thousand cuts."

First, is the reputation hit Evinrude/Johnson took over Ficht that took down OMC. They no longer had any boats you could only get with an Evinrude or a Johnson on the back. Long-time Evinrude loyalists abandoned ship and would never go back, so they started with a smaller loyalty than the other brands have.

Second, in the midst of the Great Recession, BRP sunk a lot of money into creating the G2 engine. They likely never recovered that investment.

Third, the sale of Cabelas to Bass Pro and Johnny Morris eliminated a national chain where Evinrudes were available on Rangers. Without that outlet, they were totally reliant on local dealers, very few of whom were Evinrude exclusive. It's possible that the sale of Ranger to Morris also contributed to this in what deals were offered. I know the closest Ranger dealer to me used to always have at least one new Evinrude-powered boat in stock, but hasn't for a couple of years.

Fourth, the commitment of Mercury to 4-stroke in its top lines made Evinrude the last 2-stroke hold out, which despite the technological successes/advantages of the G2, made them look like they were stuck in outdated technology (and were more expensive in doing it).

A couple of months ago, I said to my family that this Covid event will take out some major brands. I included Evinrude in that expectation, but would not say it out loud in an effort to keep it from becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. My strategy didn't work.

Sad day.

[pfisher]

What foreign brand did you bypass?

Yamaha? Suzuki? Evinrude? Honda?

I was between a yamaha and the etec. My dealer is sells and services both and I always try and help those in manufacturing when possible. It literally came down to the fact I could help someone with a job.

Lesson learned......

[BassCPT]

I'd been dreaming of upgrading from my HO to a G2 after I had paid off my boat...
Hell! A big part of me is thinking F*** it, if I can get my hands on a G2 I should just do it and fulfill that dream!

[Thorny]

I'd been dreaming of upgrading from my HO to a G2 after I had paid off my boat...
Hell! A big part of me is thinking F*** it, if I can get my hands on a G2 I should just do it and fulfill that dream!

I don't even have a boat, and I keep thinking along the same line: get a G2 that's on the lot somewhere while I still can.

Unfortunately, the closest one is 170 miles away, while I have 3 dealers selling Yamahas less than 60 miles away. This whole thing will change what boats I will be looking at.

[Todd5712]

This is from the company conference call this morning

Sebastien Martel -- Chief Financial Officer
Yes. Well actually on the OE business, there's actually two components; there's the unit business and there's the parts business. And the parts business is a business that we're going to be continuing. Obviously, we're going to be servicing our dealers for warranty but also for our consumers that are no longer under warranty but need service, so that business is going to keep going on.
As Jose mentioned, the unit business, so the actual engine, was a business that we were sub-scale. We've been losing market share over the last few years. And from a margin perspective, it's a business that was almost breakeven. And from a profitability, it was a business that was actually at a loss position, and that's why we took the decision to discontinue it.
When you look at OE in terms of the whole portfolio of our Marine segment, the engine business is about 45% of total revenues. So if you carve that part out, it should give you a good appreciation of what the remaining business is.

[DaleH]

Did all notice that Bombardier is not selling the patent/design/trademark rights to Evinrude E-Tec or G2 engines? Not sure what that really means for the long-term, but it must mean something ... just not sure what. It just could be that there's no value in it, where the other OE competitors are all 4-strokes.

In regards to that question however, I just got this from a long-time Evinrude guru:

"I have heard what some insiders think is going on with that, but until it actually happens ... I sort of refuse to believe it. You will understand why if it happens!"

[Bassmeister]

Did all notice that Bombardier is not selling the patent/design/trademark rights to Evinrude E-Tec or G2 engines? Not sure what that really means for the long-term, but it must mean something ... just not sure what. It just could be that there's no value in it, where the other OE competitors are all 4-strokes.


"I have heard what some insiders think is going on with that, but until it actually happens ... I sort of refuse to believe it. You will understand why if it happens!"

That's my bitch....if you aren't going to produce the engines sell it....don't kill the brand after this many years.....

[Todd5712]

Can you please translate that. I’ve been pondering for like an hour

[justsomeguy]

I'm glad I bypassed a foreign brand to help an american company this past summer.......

Hey you could be stuck with a Mercury

[SilverFox579]

It's no different than Merc dropping its pro XS line and becoming obsolete,

The ProXS is a current production engine.

[jeff_3272]

When BRP releases an Evinrude 4-stroke, how will they convince customers that theirs is better after bashing the tech for 16 years?

[ChampioNman]

When BRP releases an Evidence 4-stroke, how will they convince customers that theirs is better after bashing the tech for 16 years?

4 stroke is 4 stroke. Is Chevy's 4 stroke better that Ford's 4 stroke or Toyota's 4 stroke or Dodge's 4 stroke?

[peteV]

This is from the company conference call this morning

Sebastien Martel -- Chief Financial Officer
Yes. Well actually on the OE business, there's actually two components; there's the unit business and there's the parts business. And the parts business is a business that we're going to be continuing. Obviously, we're going to be servicing our dealers for warranty but also for our consumers that are no longer under warranty but need service, so that business is going to keep going on.
As Jose mentioned, the unit business, so the actual engine, was a business that we were sub-scale. We've been losing market share over the last few years. And from a margin perspective, it's a business that was almost breakeven. And from a profitability, it was a business that was actually at a loss position, and that's why we took the decision to discontinue it.
When you look at OE in terms of the whole portfolio of our Marine segment, the engine business is about 45% of total revenues. So if you carve that part out, it should give you a good appreciation of what the remaining business is.

I wonder how profitable the parts business is? Maybe they don't want to sell the brand/trademark etc, only to lose out on the parts money. Lots of us running old Evinrudes only buy OEM parts.

[Bassalive]

Growing up in the 70's just up the hill from a Motorcross track the air was a mixture of cow manure, and Bel-Ray.
Most of our dads worked at the Federal Prison, and on their time off they fished, and tore Hell out of the local motor-cross circut to relive stress.
In the barns were boats equipped with Evinrude or Johnson outboards, and Bikes were Honda CR's,Suzuki RM'S , and Uncle Bear had a Can Am.
Of course with that came us boys having the mini versions of their bikes so they could justify the insanity to the Mothers...
When a young lad grows up on the saddle of a CR 80 with Elsinor motor capable of Jumping a chicken coop,then roosting cow dung a good 100' in the air, and landing on the disgruntled kid who's parents bought them a 4 stroke.
What were we talking about again?......

[rangered]

Growing up in the 70's just up the hill from a Motorcross track the air was a mixture of cow manure, and Bel-Ray.
Most of our dads worked at the Federal Prison, and on their time off they fished, and tore Hell out of the local motor-cross circut to relive stress.
In the barns were boats equipped with Evinrude or Johnson outboards, and Bikes were Honda CR's,Suzuki RM'S , and Uncle Bear had a Can Am.
Of course with that came us boys having the mini versions of their bikes so they could justify the insanity to the Mothers...
When a young lad grows up on the saddle of a CR 80 with Elsinor motor capable of Jumping a chicken coop,then roosting cow dung a good 100' in the air, and landing on the disgruntled kid who's parents bought them a 4 stroke.
What were we talking about again?......

Dose not sound much different than my childhood in Indiana. We built our own motocross track and lived by the river. We were riding or fishing and had a great time.
Loved the smell of Castrol oil coming out of a 2 stroke motor.
We ran Suzuki's and Johnson motors. Wow those were the times.