This week, the snowmobile industry received the best possible news surrounding the future of Arctic Cat. While this media outlet does not participate in doomsday reports, we did know the future of Arctic Cat, and the literal future of snowmobiling was hanging in the balance the past 6 months and what happened in the wee hours of Tuesday April 22nd will profoundly impact everyone involved in the sport.
Snowmobiling relies on a self-funded, interconnected network of trails crisscrossing the North American snowbelt, which costs millions and millions of dollars to open and maintain every winter and provide billions of dollars of economic impact in thousands of places across North America. The contributions made to the industry branded snowmobile dealers and their OEMs cannot be understated. Simply put – we need Arctic Cat and its dealer network to be fully involved.
The good news is this; Arctic Cat was purchased by an investment group led by CEO and President of ODG Argo, Brad Darling. Argo is a Canadian off-road vehicle manufacturer famous for its xtreme terrain amphibious vehicles (XTVs). The writing was on the wall last fall when Textron, owner of Arctic Cat up until this past Tuesday, announced a pause in production of Arctic Cat products. There’s no way that was going to work. This time in history was absolutely pivotal for Arctic Cat. Thankfully, the team of visionaries Brad Darling put together had both the savvy and the finances to make this deal happen and bring the iconic Arctic Cat brand back to life.
Here’s what to expect over the next days and months. Arctic Cat will mobilize its sales force and likely leverage Argo’s sales team as well to get their dealer network shored up and ready for the next sales season. Unfortunately, a somewhat unexplainable deal made about four years ago saw Textron cancel an enormous number of lifelong, exceptional Arctic Cat snowmobile, ATV and side-x-side dealers. Expect some of them to come back on board.
I want to make something crystal clear here. Brad Darling is a man of integrity whose word is his bond. He bleeds green and has done so since his early teenage years. I can tell you with 100% boiler plate assurance Darling’s leadership of this week’s acquisition was driven by his passion for Arctic Cat.
Consider what this means for a jillion Arctic Cat owners who have tens of thousands invested in their Arctic Cats. Owners need not fear they will be able to get parts and service for their beloved sleds. Snowmobile clubs will welcome back Arctic Cat dealers with open arms as these volunteers depend on dealers to help with fundraisers and equipment to support local trail systems.
What about products? No doubt a legion of greenies wants to hear what the future of the CATALYST platform will look like in the short and long term. We got an overview of the 2026 snowmobile model line-up this week complete with some innovative updates to current models alongside a few new models that will get Cat enthusiasts fired up and excited for the snow to start flying.
We also expect to see the development of a domestic-built 650-class 2-stroke and an updated rear suspension alongside continued refinements to the CATALYST platform using the new 858 2-stroke.
We also anticipate hearing from Roger Skime, the man behind Arctic Cat snowmobiles going back to the late 50’s and 60’s and who was, for years, its Vice President of Engineering. Roger is a genuine icon and an unwavering proponent of Arctic Cat. He’s a straight shooter and one of the most important people in the snowmobile business because he’s done it all, seen it all and knows the sport of snowmobiling and specifically Arctic Cat snowmobiles better than anyone I know.
Over the next days and weeks, we anticipate much more information becoming available and we’ll continue to get you the straight goods on everything going forward. Stay tuned!
