EXCLUSIVE
After a 15-year production run that began in 2007, the final example of this generation Kawasaki Ultra LX Jet Ski has rolled off the US assembly line, Kawasaki Australia executives have confirmed to Watercraft Zone.
The 2022 Kawasaki Ultra LX – one of the unsung heroes of the non-supercharged Jet Ski market globally – will be discreetly phased out and removed from the Kawasaki catalogue once dealer stock is sold out.
Watercraft Zone understands a number of 2022 Kawasaki Ultra LX models are still due to arrive in Australia – they are either already on the water or waiting to be shipped to showrooms – but they will be in extremely limited numbers.
However, Kawasaki is not walking away from this important mid-range segment of the Jet Ski market – indeed it is planning to make an emphatic return with a refreshed and expanded Kawasaki Ultra LX line-up in 2024.
“The Kawasaki Ultra LX comes out of the range next year, but there will eventually be another model that will fit into that category,” Robert Walker, the national sales and marketing manager of Kawasaki Australia, told Watercraft Zone in an interview at the 2022 Sydney Boat Show.
“We have a couple of model variants on the drawing board that we will add to the range as part of a renewed push into the Jet Ski market.”
You can read more about Kawasaki Jet Ski’s sales growth plans here.
Mr Walker declined to provide any further details on the 2024 Kawasaki Ultra LX because future model plans are still under wraps.
But when asked if the middle-of-the-range model would return after a 12-month hiatus with the new top deck and raft of technology changes introduced on the 2022 Kawasaki Ultra 310 series, Mr Walker said:
“If someone was writing a wish list, that’s potentially what some of our customers would appreciate. We have access to the hulls, we have access to the top decks, we can mix and match.”
The Kawasaki Australia executive confirmed the 2022 Kawasaki Ultra LX has already ended production.
It is the final version of the current generation Kawasaki Ultra LX introduced in 2007 (pictured below).
“That model has stopped, 2022 is the last model year for the current-generation Ultra LX,” said Mr Walker.
“There won’t be a 2023 Kawasaki Ultra LX, but there will eventually be other Jet Skis in that segment of the market.”
Information about the next Kawasaki Ultra LX is sketchy at the moment – and Kawasaki is yet to disclose any future model plans.
Watercraft Zone understands the non-supercharged Ultra LX series will be reborn in 2024 with a broader model range to better challenge rivals such as the Sea-Doo GTX 170 and Yamaha FX HO WaveRunner series.
While it is yet to be confirmed, industry experts believe the 2024 Kawasaki Ultra LX range will grow to two or three variants, in the same way the 2022 Kawasaki Ultra 310 supercharged line-up was revised with three heavily overhauled models designed to appeal to recreational buyers.
The most likely scenario for the 2024 Kawasaki Ultra LX series?
The completely remodelled top deck – with side-pod storage and a raft of new technology – introduced on the 2022 Kawasaki Ultra 310 supercharged series will also be adapted for the next-generation non-supercharged 2024 Kawasaki Ultra Jet Ski line-up.
This would give Kawasaki its best chance yet at reclaiming lost ground in the mid-price, full-size, three-seater Jet Ski market.
Up to three non-supercharged variants of the 2024 Kawasaki Ultra LX Jet Ski series could be offered. One with a standard-length top deck, and two premium models with a rear deck extension, daytime running lights, and a rear-view camera.
The pinnacle of the 2024 Kawasaki Ultra LX non-supercharged range could be distinguished with the addition of four audio speakers and tiered seating, as per the 2022 Kawasaki Ultra 310 LX supercharged flagship.
In the meantime, it is likely the Kawasaki Ultra LX has been withdrawn from the line-up for 12 months to allow sufficient engineering time to adapt the new reverse trigger, digital dash, and other significant technology upgrades to the non-supercharged Ultra LX platform.
It is unclear whether Kawasaki will also use the 2024 overhaul to add trim adjustment to the non-supercharged Ultra LX series.
There is a good chance the entry-level Kawasaki STX160 range will also adopt some of the tech changes introduced on the 2024 Kawasaki Ultra LX series – such as the reverse trigger – given they share the same 160-horsepower 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine and electronics architecture.
For now, this is all speculation. But Watercraft Zone remains hopeful Kawasaki reinvigorates its middle-of-the-range Jet Ski by introducing a refreshed model that has the technology, comfort, convenience – and customer appeal – to reclaim territory from Sea-Doo and Yamaha.
Kawasaki Jet Ski market share has fallen to about 6 per cent of the personal watercraft market in Australia.
In the meantime, the focus for Kawasaki in the next 12 months is to improve supply of the in-demand 2022 Kawasaki Ultra 310 supercharged series.
Watercraft Zone has been told demonstrator stock of 2022 Kawasaki Ultra 310 supercharged models will start to trickle through in Australian showrooms in the coming weeks, with customer stock due towards the end of this year and early next year.
Kawasaki Jet Ski dealers canvassed by Watercraft Zone say they are receiving roughly half the number of 2022 Kawasaki Ultra 310 supercharged Jet Skis they ordered for this year, as shipping bottlenecks and production slowdowns continue to apply the brakes on deliveries.
In an attempt to streamline the upcoming model-year changeover, the colour schemes for the three 2022 Kawasaki Ultra 310 supercharged variants are expected to roll over unchanged for 2023, effectively giving these liveries a two-year run.
As previously reported, all three models in the refreshed 2022 Kawasaki Ultra 310 Jet Ski line-up – the Kawasaki Ultra 310 X, Kawasaki Ultra 310 LX-S and Kawasaki Ultra 310 LX – carryover the heavy-duty fibreglass hull and 1.5-litre four-cylinder supercharged engine from before, but come with a completely new top deck.
Kawasaki Ultra LX: A brief history
- 2007 Kawasaki Ultra LX (160-horsepower 1.5-litre four-cylinder) launches alongside the Kawasaki Ultra 250X (250-horsepower supercharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder), the fastest and most powerful Jet Ski at the time
- 2008 Kawasaki Ultra LX and Ultra LX supercharged versions receive no changes beyond colour and trim
- 2009 Kawasaki Ultra LX gets Coulson seat. Supercharged versions bumped to 260-horsepower and renamed Kawasaki Ultra 260X and 260LX
- 2010 Kawasaki Ultra LX and Ultra LX supercharged variants get no changes beyond colour and trim
- 2011 Kawasaki Ultra LX gets no changes beyond colour and trim. Supercharged versions get redesigned 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine, new supercharger, a larger jet pump, and trim control. Now with 300-horsepower they are renamed Kawasaki Ultra 300X and 300LX
- 2012 Kawasaki Ultra LX and Ultra LX supercharged variants get new hood cover, front accents, new instrument display, revised colour and trim
- 2013 Kawasaki Ultra LX gains a pump wedge to raise the nose. No changes to Ultra LX supercharged versions beyond colour and trim
- 2014 Kawasaki Ultra LX gets no changes beyond colour and trim. Supercharged Ultra LX models in the US get a bump to 310-horsepower, model names change to Kawasaki Ultra 310X and 310LX. Australia stays with 300-horsepower versions for one more year
- 2015 Kawasaki Ultra LX gets no changes beyond colour and trim, Kawasaki Ultra 310X, 310R and 310LX released in Australia with 310-horsepower
- 2016 to 2021 Kawasaki Ultra LX – and supercharged Kawasaki Ultra 310 models – receive annual colour and trim changes
- 2022 Kawasaki Ultra 310 range introduces three new models, retains supercharged engine and hull but gains completely a new top deck with side-pod storage and a lower centre of gravity, digital dash, daytime running lights, rear-view camera, and a reverse trigger
- 2022 Kawasaki Ultra LX production ends, due to be replaced with a refreshed and expanded non-supercharged mid-size, three-seater line-up in 2024 after a 12-month hiatus
Pictured below: Where it all began, the 2007 Kawasaki Ultra LX.
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