Inside the world’s biggest jet ski factory: How Sea-Doo builds its personal watercraft

The world’s largest manufacturer of jet skis has opened the doors to its state-of-the-art production facility, offering a rare look at how Sea-Doo personal watercraft are made.

Sea-Doo recently hosted a small group of international media at its factory in Querétaro, Mexico — and Boatsales.com.au was among those invited.

Seven out of every 10 jet skis and personal watercraft sold globally wear a Sea-Doo badge, and the company is now closing in on a significant milestone. The facility is on track to build its one-millionth Sea-Doo by the end of 2026, just over a decade after production began in 2013.

Sea-Doo’s parent company, BRP, operates 10 factories worldwide — in Austria, Germany, Finland, Canada, the US and Mexico. But only one builds Sea-Doo watercraft, and that is the facility I had the privilege of visiting.

The factory is located within a vast industrial park shared with major global automotive manufacturers and suppliers.

BRP says Querétaro was selected for its skilled workforce, strong work ethic and convenient access to shipping ports on both Mexico’s east and west coasts, as well as proximity to the United States, the world’s largest jet ski market.

Around 2500 employees work at the site, with a fairly even split between men and women. Production typically runs across two shifts totalling 17 hours per day, Monday to Friday, with a third shift added during peak demand periods.

Between 20 and 30 truckloads of Sea-Doos leave the storage yard daily. While exact daily production figures are confidential, a completed craft rolls off the line every few minutes, from what we could see.

This is where the entire Sea-Doo range comes together — from entry-level Spark and GTI models to larger GTX, Fish Pro and Explorer Pro variants, plus high-performance RXP-X and RXT-X models.

The Querétaro site includes four factories. Two are dedicated to Sea-Doo assembly, while the other two handle machining and engine production for BRP’s broader powersports portfolio.

Combined, the two Sea-Doo assembly buildings cover an area roughly equivalent to 10 football fields.

The smaller building houses the Composite Fabrication Centre, where decks and hulls for premium models are produced. Hulls for Spark and GTI models are sourced from a nearby facility.

We were briefly allowed inside the centre but not our cameras as Sea-Doo prefers to keep its production methods under wraps.

The main building — the focus of the tour — is where everything comes together.

Two separate production lines operate inside the main building: one dedicated to full-size models, which takes up about two-thirds of the floor space, and another for the Spark series.

The assembly process begins with hulls lined up on vertical racks before being transferred onto automated sleds.

At various installation points, engines, jet pumps, fuel tanks and electronic systems are fitted. Every fuel tank is pressure-tested and submerged in water to check for leaks before installation.

To ensure accuracy and traceability, high-tech torque tools digitally record the settings of every nut and bolt. This data is matched to each craft’s VIN, allowing Sea-Doo to quickly isolate affected units if a recall or production issue arises — a system adapted from the automotive industry.

One of the most striking stages of production is the “marriage point”, where the deck is bonded to the hull.

Two robots handle this process on full-size models to ensure speed, efficiency and quality. One positions the top deck while the other applies industrial adhesive around the bond line. The deck is then lowered onto the hull, after which technicians manually apply clamps to ensure the bond sets correctly, followed by additional human inspections.

Although protective wrapping still covers many exterior panels, this is the moment each craft begins to resemble a finished Sea-Doo.

Quality checks occur throughout the assembly process, but they don’t stop at the end of the line.

At a brightly lit inspection bay, LED indicators guide workers on precisely which decals to apply. Each watercraft then moves into an engine test cell, where the engine is run for approximately one minute. A water hose is connected during testing to prevent overheating.

Once all that is done, the units are wrapped in plastic, boxed up and moved to the storage yard ready for shipping.

Even after being boxed and prepared for shipment, three finished watercraft are randomly selected daily by the quality team, unboxed and re-inspected before being repackaged.

Only then are they cleared for export.

From Mexico, the Sea-Doos are shipped to more than 130 countries worldwide, including Australia.

Australia is Sea-Doo’s fourth-largest market, behind the United States, Brazil and Canada.

Interestingly, Australia-bound models are often among the first exported during model-year changeovers due to the long shipping time. That’s why 2026 models arrived ahead of the Australian summer holiday season, with the first batches landing in November and December 2025 which was a marked improvement on previous years when new models would arrive late in the season.

Joshua Dowling travelled to Mexico as a guest of Sea-Doo, alongside other international media, for this story.