Prices for Jet Skis and personal watercraft are set to hit new heights in 2023, representatives for Sea-Doo, Yamaha WaveRunner, and Kawasaki Jet Skis have told Watercraft Zone.
While there were modest price rises earlier this year in response to increased shipping costs – each Sea-Doo went up by $150 and Yamaha WaveRunners went up by $50 – the RRPs for 2023 models are likely to go up by thousands of dollars.
The most expensive Jet Skis and personal watercraft on sale in Australia today (top-end models such as the Sea-Doo GTX 300 Limited, Yamaha FX SVHO Limited, and the Kawasaki Ultra 310LX) are already priced close to – or in excess of – the $30,000 mark, which is small boat territory.
A representative for Sea-Doo in Australia said the company would honour 2022 pricing for existing stock, but foreshadowed price rises for the 2023 Sea-Doo model line-up, which is due to be unveiled in North America next week.
“We are not ready to release 2023 pricing yet, but we expect prices will go up due to increases in shipping and production costs,” Lloyd Jaber, senior advisor for Sea-Doo Asia-Pacific, told Watercraft Zone at the 2022 Sydney Boat Show.
“Anyone looking to buy a Sea-Doo in time for next summer will be able to take advantage of 2022 prices while stock lasts,” he said.
Yamaha WaveRunner representatives at the Sydney Boat Show said it was too early to disclose 2023 prices, however they also forecast price rises across the range.
Kawasaki Jet Ski representatives in Australia said the company will “price protect” 2022 orders that have already been secured with a deposit.
But Kawasaki Jet Ski customers placing new orders will be obliged to pay 2023 prices.
Prices for the 2023 Kawasaki Jet Ski range are yet to be listed but, if the US is a guide, customers can expect increases of between at least $500 and $1000.
Kawasaki Australia national sales and marketing manager Robert Walker told Watercraft Zone at the 2022 Sydney Boat Show:
“We’re having to build-in price rises due to the extra cost of freight and other manufacturing and logistics increases.
“Shipping container costs have risen from $2000 per container to $10,000 per container. Unfortunately we have to build that into the price because we can’t absorb those costs.”
The Kawasaki Australia executive apologised to customers after deliveries of the 2022 Kawasaki Ultra 310 Jet Ski series were delayed by six months and missed the peak summer season.
However, Kawasaki Australia says it hopes to be able to significantly reduce waiting times and boost stock levels next year.
“We were roughly six months behind schedule this year,” said Mr Walker. “The Kawasaki factory built our Jet Skis on time, and our 2022 models should have been here last summer.
“We will get some 2022 models here before the end of this year, but we’re now focusing on our 2023 models due to go into production later this year.”
The Kawasaki Australia executive joined the chorus of industry experts from Sea-Doo and Yamaha who urged customers to order now so they are in the queue in time for summer stock arrivals.
“Even though we have been supply constricted, we have a very eager audience,” said Mr Walker. “We hope to be able to meet our pent-up demand over the next 12 months.”
Photo credit: The image at the top of this story was captured by Jeff Lakeford and is used here with permission.