growing range of off-road rec-
reational vehicles,” said Textron
President and CEO Scott Donnel-
ly at the time of the acquisition.
Unfortunately, the integration of
Arctic Cat into the Textron portfo-
lio of companies, and particularly
Textron Specialty Vehicle Division,
did not go so well. Arctic Cat was
already struggling against heavy
competition from Polaris and Ca-
nAm, reportedly leading to declin-
ing revenues in 2017 and 2018. In
April 2019, it was announced that
Scott Ernest would be replacing
Kevin Holleran as CEO of the divi-
sion. No doubt this, in turn, led to
the reincarnation of the Arctic Cat
brand. From Arctic Cat’s website,
the following explanation is pre-
sented:
“As Textron Off Road, we released
some of our most inspiring vehicles
yet, including the highly antici-
pated Wildcat XX with its indus-
try-leading suspension system.
But as we listened to our loyal
riders, it became clear that their
passion for the Arctic Cat brand
remained strong. That’s why in
2019 we decided our off-road ve-
hicles should carry the Arctic Cat
name once again.”
As for Bad Boy Buggies, the first
name change upon acquisition
was to Bad Boy Off Road. Veering
away from the original all-electric
vehicles targeting the hunter mar-
ket, the Stampede, manufactured
in a newly-constructed plant in
Augusta, became Textron’s entry
in the off-road market. At some
point thereafter, the band name
Bad Boy disappeared altogether.
Clicking on www.badboyoffroad.
com gets you to the Arctic Cat
site, with the cryptic admonition,
“Sorry, this trail is closed.” (Try it,
if you like.)
One more twist in branding strate-
gy and you find Bad Boy Off Road’s
electric-powered Recoil EV first
appearing as Textron Off Road’s
Prowler EV and now as Arctic Cat’s
Prowler—but no EV model.
Club Car’s “organic” approach
Rather than buy into the off-road
market, Club Car has extended its
light duty gas and electric work
vehicles into the heftier XRT line.
The company has, in fact, been
careful to designate the line as
commercial and personal work
vehicles, not off-roaders—this,
despite the obvious fact they are
well- suited for off-road use.
the Club Car brand, if this initial
collaboration works out.
The tie-up with AEV Technologies
is a departure from the company’s
traditional in-house product devel-
opment, but is clearly meant fill out
and complement current offerings,
as opposed to a whole new field of
products. Nonetheless, it will be in-
teresting to track this novel experi-
ment to see where it might lead
Three predictions—the good, the
better, and the crossover
Let me finish this article with three
predictions concerning the future
direction small vehicles of the work
and utility variety:
The XRT 1550-
And no mistaking 1. Gas-powered
the Club Car work vehicles will
brand continue to be a
solid market seg-
ment, but with
little growth;
There has been no switching into
different divisions, rebranding, and
so on, which has marked Textron’s
uneven history of expansion into
the off-road arena. All models
remain solidly identified with the
Club Car brand.
That being said, I note and have
commented on Club Car’s ar-
rangement with AEV Technologies
whereby Club Car will be adding
the latter’s electric-powered light
duty vehicle to its inventories. This
vehicle is called the Club Car 411.
We may see other vehicles from
AEV Technologies appearing under
2. Light duty
electric work or
utility vehicles
will be a growth
segment, feeding
upon the grow-
ing emphasis on clean power and
the significant and ever growing
potential of lithium batteries;
3. Crossovers between work and
personal transport—electric-pow-
ered—will begin to emerge as
multi-tasking, one-model-fits all (or
most) mobility requirements. (Look
for them in your gated community!)
…And, a final note: Off-road UTV
market is and will remain a bridge
too far for golf car manufacturers.
Their real growth opportunity is in
urban mobility markets where their
expertise in electric drive trains will
be put to good effect.
NOVEMBER 2019
25