Spirit Lake, Iowa — Plans have been announced to cease production of a motorcycle that has been manufactured in northwest Iowa since the late 1990’s.
Polaris Industries has announced that it will begin to immediately ease down production of it’s Victory motorcycles, which have been manufactured at the company’s Spirit Lake production facility. According to the announcement, the Victory brand has struggled to keep enough market share to succeed and be profitable. Polaris CEO Scott Wine says the company has invested its heart and soul into the Victory brand in the past 18 years, but says the company looked at the amount of money it would take to meet changing consumer demand and decided to narrow the company’s focus.
Wine says the company will focus on the production of its Indian motorcycles, and Slingshot three-wheeler productions. Wine says Polaris remains committed to maintaining its presence in northwest Iowa, and will do so with the production of their Indian motorcycle line at the Spirit Lake plant. Polaris acquired the iconic Indian motorcycle brand in 2011. The rich history of the Indian brand dates back to 1901, when the first Indian motorcycle was sold to a retail customer.
Polaris hasn’t said how many workers will be impacted by the shut down of the Victory line.
