Skipper's blog: For BRP, OEM might just mean "Outstandingly Expedient Measure"

IF I were to tell you that I had actually sighted, slunk up beside and touched a Dorado, a Marlin, a Narwhal and a Killer Whale, you’d possibly surmise that there is a secret, sensitive - albeit recklessly foolhardy - Jacques Cousteau-type side to me which has lain dormant in all the time I’ve been subjecting you to my raving rants and flights of fancy. No, dear reader; I have never been in close proximity to any of the above denizens of the deep in their natural habitat, but I have most definitely seen them in a marine showroom in Europe.

Eh? How’s that? Actually, the above species are, respectively, Selva-badged variants of Yamaha’s 4-stroke F60C, F100D, F115A and F150A outboards. And stunningly striking they look, too, with livery and decals that even seem to “out-Yamaha” Yamaha. This is probably an arrangement which Yamaha stoically bears and tolerates under sufferance (after all, they could easily sell more of such key models under their own name and further build European market share), but it’s probably a reciprocal “quid pro quo” arrangement tied to the castings supplied by Selva for engines built at Yamaha’s French MBK facility. This “revelation” about the source of some of Yamaha’s diecast components should come as no shock, as this has always been a huge part of Selva’s business. They previously supplied the old OMC plant in Bruges, Belgium for years.

And talking about “buying in” new models, nobody has been more proficiently expedient at this than, firstly, OMC with Suzuki-supplied, Evinrude-branded 4-strokes, and latterly BRP, with Johnson-branded Suzuki 4-strokes. Furthermore, it is no surprise that BRP’s US dealers have long been crying out for “cash-and-carry” product, as well as suitable auxiliaries/kickers for boats fitted with larger E-Tecs, so it is only logical that in order to expand their sales and kick-start participation in the 3.5 – 15hp portable OBM segment (a sector in which they currently have no representation whatever – unless one counts the laughably packaged, ludicrously overweight E-Tec 15 HO), they’ve had to pragmatically embark upon the “buy it in” route once more. This new range of BRP portables, all 4-stroke, will be available from early 2012 but the big surprise is the chosen vendor, Tohatsu.

Tohatsu, of course, has been supplying the other North American company, namely Mercury Marine, with such models for several years, and it’s recognised that Tohatsu has always had a very close relationship with Mercury. As this is a blog and not a dissertation or thesis, I do not propose to address the issue of the so-called Mercury/Tohatsu “joint venture” in Komagame, Japan. If you want theories, opinions, arguments and counter-arguments in the most pedantic, vociferous, anally-retentive manner about the exact make-up of this putative “joint venture”, then there is a rather pretentious US-based Boston Whaler owners' website that will thoroughly sate your cravings (93 comments and counting as I write this). But regardless of what constitutes a “joint venture” (and, as a long-time outboard hand, I maintain that Tohatsu is fully and autonomously in control of its own destiny), the fact is that both North American manufacturers are now customers of this company.

This is truly a remarkable coup by the oldest Japanese outboard manufacturer – a modest, unassuming, seemingly conservative company. No razzle-dazzle, fanfare, glitz and glam or self-serving hype for them, but annual production volumes that would probably raise eyebrows among the main players. Tohatsu products will now be available under four different banners (five, if one counts Mariner as a separate brand): Tohatsu itself, Mercury, Mariner, the US-only Nissan, and now BRP (probably Evinrude). Plus, their Komagame plant reputedly has the potential to produce 200,000 units per annum – more capacity than Suzuki, Honda and BRP combined.

Full marks for Tohatsu, I say. Their business ethos is obviously not rooted in gung-ho egotism, brand equity gained at any price and out-and-out market domination (although they’re doing a superb job in a “Trojan Horse” way). They manufacture a product which they are prepared to supply to other industry contemporaries – ostensibly competitors - who want to buy it. The Tohatsu name isn’t on it, but Tohatsu build it, make the profit from it and keep staff employed and the plant running as a result of it. This is a simple, pragmatic, logical and profitable way to keep a business running.

Regarding brand recognition and equity, it’s an incontrovertible fact that the 2-stroke Yamaha Enduro has always been the first choice for commercial users in developing nations, although some pro users do opt for Mercury/Mariner 2-strokes in the 15 - 40 hp range. Whilst there is nothing whatsoever wrong with a Mercury/Mariner built by Mercury themselves, the fact is that these 15 - 40hp 2-strokes all come from Tohatsu. Even in some countries where Tohatsu is available as a brand in its own right brand, non-Yamaha customers still go for the Mercury/Mariner versions. It’s as if they don’t realise that these motors are actually Tohatsus – and, in fact, many don’t. In one of the most paradoxical business situations ever, Tohatsu garners little glory but gets runs on the board by virtue of units sold to, and by, a competitor.

But what does this new OEM arrangement tell us about BRP in the long term? Hard to say, but it seems to indicate that the introduction of low-horsepower E-Tecs is as likely as the Winter Olympics being held in Mooloolaba. I’m not alone in thinking that 2-stroke DI technology is just too complex, too cumbersome and too dependent on large amounts of electrical power to ever have the versatility required for downscaling and packaging in small-horsepower applications. Everybody knows – in Australia, anyway - that the single most popular size of outboard is 15hp (particularly in short shaft). BRP know this, too, which was why the E-TEC 15 HO was optimistically, pragmatically but half-heartedly introduced. But as that is the equivalent of installing an iron block Chevy in the nose of a Holden Barina, they realised that swift remedial action was required.

BRP almost certainly has a master plan for security of tenure in the outboard business, but I can’t see portable DI 2-strokes figuring in it – unless they’re just buying some breathing space. Only time will tell, but this expedient 4-stroke pragmatism is a definite case of “when needs must, the devil does”. It doesn’t do much for BRP’s credibility and “point of difference” philosophy, though, having to sell technology they have denigrated and ridiculed for years. Meanwhile, Tohatsu may well be the biggest “little outboard” company in the world.