Exceptional growth for Mercury Marine in 2021
Buoyed by the euphoria of the yachting market in 2021, the American engine manufacturer Mercury Marine is posting record results in France and around the world. Yann Diquerreau, head of communications for the brand in France, illustrates this with figures. "Our sales volume of engines, mainly outboards, is up by 11% over the season. In comparison, the market grew by 5%. Mercury Marine's turnover has increased by 40% in the French market," he says.
Success of the V6 and V8 outboards
The good results for 2021 can be explained by the good reception of Mercury's V6 and V8 outboards by boaters," says Yann Diquerreau. He details Mercury Marine's market share in France according to horsepower, in an area where the most sold horsepower on boats is between 150 and 300 hp. "We are the leader in France in the 150+ horsepower segment. If we take the more than 300 HP, we have 44% of the market share and if we consider outboard engines from V6 and above, Mercury Marine has more than 34% of the market. To give you an idea of the size of the market, in the United States, Mercury now has more than 45% of the market in all power ranges. Overall, we are very happy because we are achieving our best market share in France for 10 years and in Europe for 20 years."
Supply difficulties on small outboards
Like all marine engine manufacturers, Mercury Marine is suffering from supply difficulties for certain components essential to these outboard engines. Without specifying the current delivery times, the manufacturer admits that it is experiencing delays compared to its usual delivery times to dealers and shipyards. The small powers concentrate the majority of the difficulties. While the new 600 hp engine is the focus of attention, these small outboards represent an essential part of the volume of engines delivered by Mercury Marine, particularly in France and Europe.
