Dealer looks at downturn
• Gary Underhill with the last of the ATVs he’s allowed to sell without rollover protection … sold weeks ago and awaiting delivery.
By Tony Scott,
October 13, 2021
A Scottsdale businessman is contemplating a 60 per cent downturn courtesy of the Federal edict to ban the sale of all terrain vehicles without factory-fitted roll over protection.
Scottsdale Suzuki owner Gary Underhill doesn’t believe he’ll be among the 40 per cent of the Australian dealers that the manufacturer expects will go out of business.
“It’ll be tough because we’ve so much relied on the demand from farmers.
“But we’ll get by with servicing and spares and accessories for those already in use and we’ll have more focus on our two-wheel bikes.”
The ban on sales came into force from this week with penalties of up to $10 million for any dealer that doesn’t comply.
Australia accounts for only about three per cent of world sales so Mr Underhill said it’s understandable that the main manufacturers in the U.S. and Japan have decided not to factory fit the devices and consequently not to export to Australia.
There has been an increase in demand for side-by-side vehicles, but he said his premises didn’t have room for the bigger machines and there were no franchises available anyway.
He said there’s no question safety issues are important, but he points out there are numerous anomalies with how the ban has been introduced.
There has already been a big shift towards demand for side-by-side vehicles for farm use.
But figures showed of Australian crash fatalities the 13 per cent attributed to ATVs was only slightly higher than the 12 per cent for side-by-sides.
“Like in many things, it’s often left up to the choice of the operator, whether they wear a seatbelt that’s provided or a helmet as is recommended.
“We can still sell mini quads without the rollover bar and sports quads that are lighter and faster, so it’s open to the question are they more dangerous?”
Mr Underhill said he’d believed from the outset that making the rollover protection fitting compulsory in the factory was an overstep.
“We’ve fitted bars, where owners have wanted them, as after market add-ons and they do exactly the same job.”
He’s also questioned whether the bars fitted to Taiwanese and Chinese machines, that are still allowed to be sold in Australia, are truly factory fitted.