Polaris divides Australia, NZ operations

POLARIS Industries will restructure its operations in Australia and New Zealand, creating separate business entities in each country as part of the off-road vehicle manufacturer’s growth strategy.

The Australian division will be headed by long-time Australian motor industry executive Perry Morrison, who earlier this year joined Polaris to take on the newly created role of executive director of government relations.

Mr Morrison previously worked for more than 16 years as head of Suzuki’s motorcycle division and, before that, served for many years with Honda MPE in Australia.

As country manager – off-road vehicles for Polaris in Australia, Mr Morrison is now charged with driving continued growth in this market, which to the end of October has seen sales climb 34.1 per cent compared to the same period last year. It is now the market-leading off-road vehicle brand in Australia.

Polaris has experienced similar growth in New Zealand, where sales have climbed 35.5 per cent YTD, and as such Polaris NZ will be established as a standalone entity with a head office to be opened in Auckland early next year.

At the helm will be Alan Collins, who will oversee Polaris and the Indian and Victory motorcycle brands in New Zealand.

Mr Collins has spent the past 18 months as marketing manager for the company in Australia and New Zealand, and has previous experience in various senior sales and marketing roles with the US brand.

“It is always people that make the greatest difference and I have no doubt that we have assembled the best possible leaders to drive our business forward,” said Polaris Australia and New Zealand managing director Peter Alexander.

“Just a few short months ago I announced the arrival of esteemed industry executive Peter Nochar to our Australian motorcycle business, and now I have great pleasure in announcing further leadership changes to drive growth for our business over both the short and long term.

“Central to our growth and success is our people and we will continue to go out and handpick the very best talent the market has to offer.

“With Perry Morison and Alan Collins, we have two of the very best leaders to head up our business operations in both Australia and New Zealand.”

As reported, Mr Nochar joined Polaris in September as sales and network director for the Victory and Indian brands in both Australia and New Zealand.

He was previously managing director of Harley-Davidson Australia and New Zealand, having moved into the motorcycle sector in 2008 after more than 25 years in senior management positions at car companies in Australia and overseas.

Polaris has named Cameron Cuthill as its incoming executive director of government relations, taking up the role early next year.

Mr Cuthill was previously the ATV manager at the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), and prior to that had stints with Victory, BMW and Honda in a variety of executive roles.

He is also said to be one of only three people in Australia to hold the highest ATV instructor qualification.

The new marketing manager for Polaris’ off-road vehicle division in Australia is Simon Gloyne, a 30-year veteran in the motorcycle and broader automotive industry who comes on-board next week.

Mr Gloyne was recently involved in the launch of the Arctic Cat ATV brand in Australia, and prior to that spent more than a decade as brand manager at Peter Stevens Importers, responsible for brands such as Hyosung, Vespa and Piaggio.

Earlier in his career he worked as a project manager for Monza Imports, national marketing manager for Honda Motorcycles, dealer manager for Harley-Davidson, and in a range of sales and aftersales positions with Saab, Daihatsu and Honda.