MINNEAPOLIS (February 3, 2010) < Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII) today announced its acquisition of swissauto Powersports. Based in Burgdorf, Switzerland, swissauto has expertise in designing and developing high-performance and high-efficiency engines and innovative vehicles. The acquisition will further strengthen Polaris global engine and vehicle design capability while also enhancing the company1s European presence.
Founded in 1987, swissauto's core capabilities are in development, prototyping and manufacturing of internal combustion engines. Polaris has a long history of working with swissauto. The high-performance, four-stroke Weber engine that Polaris uses in several current snowmobile models was developed by swissauto.
In addition to recreational vehicle engines, swissauto also has a strong tradition of developing top-tier racing engines for World Motorcycle GP. The company1s V4 2-stroke 500 cc engine drove 29 wins, 41 Poles and 3 World Championships during the 1990s. A completely new racing bike was also developed by swissauto and competed aggressively against larger Japanese OEMs during the late 1990s. This bike achieved the pole position twice during it's first season of racing and ranked in the top ten several times.
Swissauto has industry leading powertrain design and development capabilities and a strong understanding of turbo-charging and high-performance engines, said Polaris Chief Executive Officer, Scott Wine. This acquisition directly supports our stated objectives to be the best in powersports and a global market leader.
Polaris acquired the powersports portion of swissauto and will continue to operate in the current swissauto facility located in Burgdorf, Switzerland. The automotive division of swissauto was not involved in this acquisition and will continue to operate autonomously.
About Polaris
With annual 2009 sales of $1.6 billion, Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and the Polaris RANGER(r), snowmobiles and Victory Motorcycles(r) for recreational and utility use. Polaris is a recognized leader in the snowmobile industry, and one of the largest manufacturers of ORVs in the world. Victory Motorcycles, established in 1998 and representing the first all-new American-made motorcycle from a major company in nearly 60 years, are rapidly making impressive in-roads into the cruiser and touring motorcycle marketplace. Polaris also enhances the riding experience with a complete line of Pure Polaris(r) apparel, accessories and parts, available at Polaris dealerships. Polaris Industries Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol 3PII,2 and the Company is included in the S&P Small-Cap 600 stock price index. Information about the complete line of Polaris products, apparel and vehicle accessories, is available from authorized Polaris dealers or anytime from the Polaris homepage at www.polarisindustries.com
Donna Beadle
External Relations Specialist-Polaris Off-Road Vehicles
Polaris Industries
763-542-2314