The credit card company Synchrony Financial has launched a new card for consumers with ATVs, motorcycles, boats and similar vehicles, as Americans continue seeking ways to spend more time outside.
Synchrony, which partners with more than 5,000 powersports dealers, said it's continuing to see demand in the outdoors sector following a surge in sales early in the pandemic.
The sector is full of enthusiasts who want more options to finance related purchases after they buy their vehicles, Susan Medrano, general manager of Synchrony Outdoors, said in an interview. Those purchases include new helmets, jackets, parts, maintenance and fuel.
"This card really provides both the dealers flexibility to be able to sell more through their dealership, and it offers the customer the financial flexibility that they're craving," Medrano said.
The Synchrony card does not cover the purchases of vehicles themselves, though the $102 billion-asset bank offers separate financing for vehicle purchases through its dealer partnerships. Still, so-called aftermarket purchases are often the most profitable parts of the dealers' businesses, the Stamford, Connecticut, bank said in a news release.
"It's a real benefit for the customer and us to be able to offer financing solutions throughout our entire dealership instead of just on the showroom floor," Nick Haider, regional operations director at RideNow Powersports, which partners with Synchrony, said in the release.
Demand for powersports vehicles remains strong, driven by both first-time buyers and repeat buyers buying another vehicle, Medrano said. The demand is broad, too, with consumers seeking regular ATVs, racing ATVs, motorcycles, jet skis and boats.
Total loans in Synchrony's Lifestyle division, which includes powersports financing, rose to nearly $6 billion at the end of last year, up from roughly $5.5 billion a year earlier.
The powersports sector as a whole is expected to grow from $93.7 billion in 2021 to $131.1 billion in 2028, according to
But the powersports sector also faces some risks, the market research firm IBISWorld wrote last year. Those risks include rising interest rates, high material costs and a potential economic downturn leading to less discretionary consumer spending.
Still, the rising interest in outdoor activities is likely to continue, which should help generate continued revenue increases for the industry, according to IBISWorld. Younger consumers are increasingly interested in buying ATVs and water sports vehicles, the market research firm added.
