Industry data sourced by Watercraft Zone shows sales of Jet Skis in Australia hit reverse in 2024 – for the second year in a row – after posting the worst result in almost a decade.
After Jet Ski sales hit a peak of almost 10,000 sales nationally in 2022, customer demand has been in freefall ever since – as prices hit record highs.
Confidential industry sales data across the three major brands – Sea-Doo, Yamaha WaveRunner and Kawasaki Jet Ski – shows just 6370 new personal watercraft were reported as sold in Australia in 2024.
The 2024 sales numbers are down 17.8 per cent compared to 2023, and represent a decline of 35.8 per cent compared to 2022.
Industry analysts have blamed record high prices – and a glut of near-new secondhand Jet Skis coming onto the market after the surge in sales during the pandemic – for causing the sustained slowdown.
The downturn in sales means all three brands – Sea-Doo, Yamaha WaveRunner and Kawasaki Jet Ski – continue to be overstocked and are extending their sharp deals to clear showrooms ahead of the winter off-season.
The latest Jet Ski sales data for Australia provides an insight into how each brand is enduring the current cost-of-living crisis.
Sea-Doo is still the market leader by a significant margin in Australia.
Sea-Doo represented 77.2 per cent – almost four out of every five – of new Jet Skis reported as sold in Australia last year.
This compares to Yamaha WaveRunner (19.3 per cent of the market, or approximately one in five sales), after last year posting its second-lowest annual result in close to a decade.
Kawasaki Jet Ski sales hit a new low (3.5 per cent of the market) after delivering just 225 new watercraft nationally last year, a dramatic 60 per cent drop from its most recent peak of 550 sales in 2020.
The 2024 figures show Sea-Doo sold more watercraft in nine individual months than Kawasaki sold over the entire year.
Kawasaki – which invented the Jet Ski name before it became common use language for the category – is in the middle of a model expansion as it tries to win back buyers and claw back lost market share.
The once proud brand is now paying the price for failing to invest in new models and basic upgrades over the previous decade.
The money Kawasaki saved by not investing in new or upgraded models for the better part of 10 years is now costing the company dearly.
The data below shows how market share has changed for each Jet Ski brand over the years.
The numbers show Sea-Doo is growing as Kawasaki Jet Ski is declining, while Yamaha WaveRunner has stabilised at around 20 per cent of the market over the past three years.
While Sea-Doo was the clear market leader in every state and territory, Yamaha WaveRunner punched above its weight in NSW – representing more than 26 per cent of the NSW Jet Ski market compared to Yamaha WaveRunner’s national average of 19.3 per cent.
Sea-Doo, Yamaha WaveRunner and Kawasaki Jet Ski market share in Australia:
- 2024: Sea-Doo (77.2 per cent), Yamaha (19.3 per cent), Kawasaki (3.5 per cent)
- 2023: Sea-Doo (75 per cent), Yamaha (21 per cent), Kawasaki (4 per cent)
- 2022: Sea-Doo (77 per cent), Yamaha (19 per cent), Kawasaki (4 per cent)
- 2021: Sea-Doo (77 per cent), Yamaha (17 per cent), Kawasaki (6 per cent)
- 2020: Sea-Doo (68 per cent), Yamaha (26 per cent), Kawasaki (6 per cent)
- 2019: Sea-Doo (69 per cent), Yamaha (26 per cent), Kawasaki (5 per cent)
- 2018: Sea-Doo (70 per cent), Yamaha (23 per cent), Kawasaki (7 per cent)
Sea-Doo, Yamaha WaveRunner and Kawasaki Jet Ski sales:
| Year | Sea-Doo Australia | Yamaha WaveRunner Australia | Kawasaki Jet Ski Australia | Total Australian market |
| 2024 | 4920, down 13 per cent vs prior year | 1225, down 23 per cent vs prior year | 225, down 10 per cent vs prior year | 6370, down 17.8 per cent vs prior year |
| 2023 | 5655, down 26 per cent vs prior year | 1600, down 17 per cent vs prior year | 250, down 24 per cent vs prior year | 7505, down 24 per cent vs prior year |
| 2022 | 7660, up 43 per cent vs prior year | 1925, up 59 per cent vs prior year | 330, down 20 per cent vs prior year | 9915, up 42 per cent vs prior year |
| 2021 | 5345, down 5 per cent vs prior year | 1210, down 44 per cent vs prior year | 415, down 25 per cent vs prior year | 6970, down 16.7 per cent vs prior year |
| 2020 | 5650, up 11 per cent vs prior year | 2165, up 13 per cent vs prior year | 550, up 49 per cent vs prior year | 8365, up 13.7 per cent vs prior year |
| 2019 | 5070, up 8 per cent vs prior year | 1920, up 25 per cent vs prior year | 390, down 24 per cent vs prior year | 7380, up 9.7 per cent vs prior year |
| 2018 | 4695 | 1530 | 485 | 6710 |
Above: Sales of new personal watercraft in Australia, and the percentage change from the prior year. Figures have been rounded.
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