Yamaha Motor Co. (YMC) announced today that the company is moving its global snowmobile operations to North America, and the division will be headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. This follows a similar model for Yamaha’s ATV and side-by-side business, which is based in Kennesaw, Georgia.
All product decisions, planning and such for the ATV and side-by-side business happen there, and then the product developed through that process is shared with the world. This process was implemented a couple of years ago so that decisions would be made in the biggest market for the product instead of being made in Japan. Now, essentially, an ATV sold in Minnesota or Morocco or Moscow or even in Japan was designed and planned here. So, Yamaha has decided to do the same with its snowmobile division – with global headquarters in Toronto. The move affects several jobs that were based in Wisconsin.
This change essentially means there will be far less influence over product development and planning by YMC in Japan and far more influence will happen in the primary market of North America. A press release from Yamaha about the changes to its corporate structure for snowmobiles is below the photo.
TORONTO (June 30, 2016) – Yamaha Motor Co., has announced that effective July 1, 2016, it will use North America as its global headquarters for snowmobile operations.
The new North American Snowmobile Division will take the lead in managing Yamaha’s worldwide snowmobile business, including product development, business planning, and marketing. The objective is to bring greater focus to North America by increasing speed of product development, improving coordination and efficiencies with industry partners, and better research and product planning decisions due to closer proximity to the market.
Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, the division is comprised of Canadian and U.S.-based employees to remain highly focused on both major markets.
In addition, Yamaha will increase investment in North American based engineering, research and design.
“For the last few years, Yamaha Motor U.S. and Yamaha Motor Canada have been taking on additional responsibility for the snowmobile market,” commented Peter Smallman-Tew, North American Team Leader. “Yamaha Motor Co. has been encouraged with our progress and we are excited to accept this new challenge. We are confident that these changes will help us serve our North American dealers and customers better.”
As a result of these changes, the daily snowmobile operations performed at Yamaha Motor USA’s Lakeview branch office in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, will be transitioned to Toronto; Minocqua, Wisconsin; and Kennesaw, Georgia.
The Yamaha North American Snowmobile Division is busily preparing for the arrival of the first Sidewinder series of snowmobiles, the most powerful snowmobiles ever released! In addition, the upcoming 2017 season will also welcome Yamaha’s 50th anniversary for the 2018 model year. It promises to be an exciting season!
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