Toward the tail end of last year, Japanese motorcycle giant Yamaha announced it would be withdrawing its ebikes from the North American market. Only a year earlier, the manufacturer had announced a discontinuation of one of its most beloved products: the snowmobile. Yamaha had been a key player in the snowmobile game for decades, first introducing its model, the SL350, in 1968. Yamaha’s line of snow-going cruisers gathered a loyal following over the years, and Yamaha’s 2025 snowmobile lineup includes a model for every budget. However, after 50-plus years of production and with over 30 snowmobile models in its historical catalog, Yamaha decided to pull the plug on this product line.
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In June of 2023, Yamaha shared that it would end sales of snowmobiles in North America, Japan, and Europe after 2025. The company cited difficulties in sustaining business in the this market as the key reason for its decision. Yamaha’s statement noted that it would instead focus its resources on its other product lines and exploring new growth markets. Now that 2025 is here, the company is set to fully stop selling snowmobiles. But is its reason for pulling the plug valid? Let’s explore.
Why Yamaha Snowmobiles Are Being Discontinued
