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F&I company returns to Powersports DEALER Seminars @ AIMExpo Powersports Business announced that Aegis Powersports has been named the sponsor of the Powering Profits track at the 2017 Pow- ersports DEALER Seminars @ AIMExpo, the annual dealer educational sessions held during AIMExpo in Columbus, Ohio. The Powersports DEALER Seminars, the largest and most comprehensive free dealer training sessions offered in the industry, annually attract hundreds of franchised and independent dealers from throughout North America. Aegis Powersports, the Sunnyvale, California-based company that provides finance and insurance products to powers- ports dealers, continues to build its footprint across the U.S. since its 2014 launch. Aegis is sponsoring a track at the Powersports DEALER Seminars for the second consecu- tive year. "We appreciate the support again this year from our friends at Aegis," said Powersports Business editor in chief Dave McMahon, who also manages the Powersports DEALER Semi- nars. "Their staff's history in our industry of providing dealers with profitable F&I products dates back decades, and it's with their sup- port that we're able to build a track lineup of speakers that allows us to help even more deal- ers increase their profitability. The Powering Profits track is always a place to find dealers who want to take the next step, and this year in Columbus will be no different." "Aegis Powersports is proud to once again sponsor the Powering Profits dealer education track at this year's AIMExpo in association with Powersports Business," said Robert Large, senior vice president, Prod- ucts & Marketing for Aegis Powersports. "The relationship we have with our dealers is truly a partnership, and that means we not only provide the best F&I products, but also the best support, service, customer experi- ence and training. Dealer education is a key part of helping our dealer partners maxi- mize their F&I potential while providing important guidance on trends, compliance and dealer best practices. We are excited to extend our commitment to powersports dealers through the truly top-notch dealer education series at AIMExpo, which we feel is more important and relevant today than ever before." The 2017 Powersports DEALER Semi- nars will be held Sept. 21-22 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. Go to www.powersportsbusiness.com/ powersportsdealerseminars to learn more about the speaker lineup. PSB Aegis Powersports named track sponsor for seminars 6 • March 13, 2017 • Powersports Business NEWS www.PowersportsBusiness.com U.S. sales up 3 percent in Q4 2016 BY DAVE MCMAHON EDITOR IN CHIEF The side-by-side market gets special treat- ment this month in our Focus section, but the more I kept hearing from Pioneer deal- ers about the strength in sales of Honda's flagship, the more I wanted to talk to Chuck Boderman to find out more about American Honda's place in that space. Boderman, vice president of the Powers- ports Division at American Honda Motor Co., obliged as usual, and during our conversation we learned that Q4 2016 saw the company's North American sales decrease 1.4 percent com- pared to Q4 2015. However, American Honda's U.S. sales were up 3 percent during the quarter. "We definitely saw a turn in both dealer and consumer sentiment post-election," Boderman told Powersports Business. "I'm not going to say it was a corrective turn, but it was a turn none- theless. We ended the year very strong and set a bunch of records for December." In fact, December was the strongest four- wheel month for American Honda since 2008, mainly driven by side-by-side sales. "But even for ATV in December month-on-month, it was our best December for a couple of years. And two-wheel was up for December for Honda," Boderman said. "It was nice to end on a high note like that just because it's been so uncertain between the politics we dealt with this year, the economy, and add some bad weather in some regions. To top it off we had the two earthquakes in Kumamoto affecting our supply chain, so we sharpened our skills and worked closely with our dealers in confronting these challenges. It's nice to be rewarded with a strong December and gaining share, both two wheel and four wheel." For the calendar year 2016 in the U.S., American Honda saw a 3.3 sales increase for powersports. That includes being up single digits with two-wheel product, up double digits for side-by-side and down single digits for ATV. "With ATV, the industry was down single digits and we were down single digits, so we maintained overall the top runner," Boder- man said. Boosted by the Pioneer 1000, Honda's top- selling side-by-side, the brand saw double-digit U.S. Honda sales strong in December See Honda, Page 7