The new line of Yamaha all-terrain vehicles will be produced at the company’s Newnan plant. The introduction of the new product line will mean the initial hire of approximately 100 employees.
Viking, the newest of Yamaha’s all-terrain vehicles, will go into production in late June or early July. The introduction of the side-by-side Viking line will require Yamaha to open a second assembly plant at the Newnan facility, according to Yamaha officials.
“This is the most comfortable and off-road capable vehicle in its class based in large part on feedback from farmers and ranchers who asked for a rugged, high-capacity utility vehicle that is also fun and comfortable to drive,” said Mike Martinez, vice president of Yamaha’s ATV/SxS group. “The all-new Viking is the only side-by-side to offer three-person seating capacity with other features that farmers and ranchers want, like electric power steering and enough cargo capacity to hold a fully-loaded pallet.”
Martinez noted that the market for approximately 70 percent of the all-terrain vehicles produced by the Japan-based Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corp. is in the United States.
“Yamaha continues to ramp up U.S. production thanks to the ATV production transfer, the introduction of all-new products like the Viking and improving market conditions,” said Martinez.
The Newnan Yamaha facility currently employees 1,250 people. The addition of the Viking line will add 100 people to that total, with the potential for the addition of 200 or more employees once production ramps up over the next two years, Yamaha officials said.
Yamaha said the company has invested $250 million in its Newnan operations in the past 12 years. The facility is now Yamaha’s worldwide hub for ATV/SxS production and distribution. The company also has operations in California, Wisconsin, Texas, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Illinois, New Jersey and Washington.
