Propelled by lockdowns and the desire to get outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry has experienced dramatic growth over the past year, setting a new benchmark for future success in powersports.
In 2020, the Motorcycle Industry Council noted an 18.4% growth in vehicle sales over 2019, with ATV sales increasing 33.8% during the same period. Growth at HISUN Motors has been consistently ticking upwards for several years leading up to 2020, but the company really accelerated their business strategy during the pandemic, creating a runway for success in 2021 and beyond.
“We’ve been experiencing triple digit growth year over year since 2019. Granted, this is partially attributed to the influx of business and supply chain constraints other manufacturers are experiencing, due to COVID-19. However, it is also largely attributed to the evolution of HISUN as a company,” said HISUN National Sales Manager, Jason Walling. “I think COVID stimulated the opportunity for us to capitalize on new business, but our leadership has done a great job of adding more qualified personnel, ramping up production, implementing better processes and breathing new life into the organization.”
Building a team to meet the consumer demand was vital for the evolution of HISUN Motors.
“We’ve seen significant growth here at HISUN, already exceeding our 2019 annual sales in the first four months of 2021. Of course, the entire powersports industry is seeing a much-needed increase in consumer interest and participation, due to the pandemic, which was helpful to our growth. Additionally, we have been working hard on developing our best team ever,” said HISUN Western Regional Sales Manager, JJ Pecsok.
HISUN’s leadership filled gaps within their personnel to build on their foundation, where resources were limited but talent was high.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to add elements to the team we previously didn’t have, ranging from district sales managers, regional sales managers, a parts and accessories director, a service center manager, traveling tech support, a quality control manager and more,” Walling said. “Every department has been developing at a rapid pace and we’re still on the gas. We’ve added over 50 new staff members to production alone, to help us keep up with demand. We even added an additional warehouse to accommodate for production increases and inventory space.”
“We have grown our largest sales team ever with more knowledgeable and customer service-driven individuals. A team that is not only passionate about the industry, but our dealers’ best interest,” Pecsok said. “Each person here at HISUN has made a huge difference.”
Pecsok emphasized that the industry’s growth caught the company off guard, as it did with several other OEMs, but learning from that experience has helped HISUN prepare for the future.
“There were some unknowns when COVID-19 began, and there still is,” Pecsok added. “We’ve seen the growth maintain itself, but there are definitely some unknowns on when this growth will slow down, and how much exactly. Fortunately, we’ve been able to quickly adapt to increase our inventory levels to help meet our dealer and consumer demands. Of course, there are challenges with supply chain, ocean freight, containers and more, but we are in a good position to where we haven’t felt quite the impact some of our competition has.”
The popularity of HISUN vehicles among consumers boils down to two factors: a trustworthy vehicle at a unique price point. The diversity of HISUN’s product line is perfect for the weekend warrior or a daily rider, with options ranging from sport to utility and everywhere in between.
“Our UTVs have been our best seller over the past year,” Pecsok said. “We’ve seen an increase across each category though. Our ATVs have really picked up and have been a hot seller for us lately. I believe many dealers and consumers were able to throw their leg over these for the first time last year, and they have experienced how good these machines really are, allowing us to put more of these out in the market.”
Vehicle sales vary by region throughout the country, but Walling mentioned that there are several models that fit nicely into any dealership, regardless of the location or which other lines they carry, including the Strike 250, Sector E1, Tactic 1000, Forge 400, Sector 450 and Sector Crew models, with highly demanded features at a tangible price point.
HISUN’s Eastern Regional Sales Manager Stuart Maxcy added, “More people than ever before are flocking to HISUN dealers throughout the country and they certainly like what they see. Our dealers are stocking up on as many units as they can get their hands on. Our inventory levels have been consistently higher than our rivals throughout 2020 and going into 2021. Due to the lack of inventory from other manufactures, our dealers are interacting with customers in a market they wouldn’t have, even a year ago.”
“We are encouraging our dealers to stay on top of managing their inventory, and we are here to help,” Pecsok said. “There have been times where we all lost sales by not having inventory, or by not having the correct inventory. It’s important for us to ensure our dealers have right product mix for their store and their customer base. Each dealer is different, and we understand that. Working closely with them to help us understand what they have the most success with, is important for us to forecast and plan with them as a partner. It’s been very exciting to witness the changes and growth and it’s even more exciting to see the positive impacts we’ve been able to provide for our dealers. And we are just getting started.”