Jet skis now as expensive as boats as shortage bites buyers

Jet ski maker Kawasaki this week announced recommended retail prices for its highly anticipated 2022 Ultra 310 supercharged series – the models right at the top of the Kawasaki range.

Market leaders Sea-Doo and Yamaha had already announced prices for their 2022 models late last year.

The top Sea-Doo and Yamaha models either eclipse the $30,000 mark before they’re on a trailer – or fall just shy of the $30,000 mark. Five years ago, the equivalent models from all three brands – Sea-Doo, Yamaha, and Kawasaki – were priced from less than $25,000.

Kawasaki Jet Ski pricing for 2022 – in a bulletin distributed to Australian dealers this week and obtained by Watercraft Zone – completes the set, and means all three mainstream personal watercraft brands now have vessels that cost around the same as a brand new 4.2-metre boat/motor/trailer package.

In the case of the 2022 Kawasaki Ultra 310 Jet Ski range, as previously reported, it represents the biggest overhaul to the model since 2007. 

While the heavy-duty SMC fibreglass hull has been around for 14 years, and the 310-horsepower supercharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine remains unchanged since 2014, everything above the bond-line is new for 2022. 

As a result of the sweeping changes, the recommended retail price of Kawasaki Ultra 310 Jet Skis have increased by between at least $4500 and $5100, depending on the model.

As well as the price rise, Kawasaki Australia has broken ranks with the rest of the personal watercraft industry and is ramping up efforts to increase the cost to customers.

Kawasaki is the only personal watercraft brand in Australia to add an “on-water” fee. For 2022 this fee is $1399 (up from $1299 last year), and is on top of the layer of profit already baked into the showroom price.

The Kawasaki “on-water” fee is the equivalent of the automotive dealer delivery fee, which in the car industry is the first line of an invoice to be eliminated when there is an oversupply of stock, as it is a byword for a new layer of profit.

However, given the severe stock restrictions of personal watercraft globally – wait times in Australia are now blowing out until this winter or next summer – a number of commenters on Facebook forums have labelled Kawasaki’s “on-water” fee as a “COVID tax”.

Regardless of what it’s called, Kawasaki Australia is in the same boat as Sea-Doo and Yamaha, and can’t get enough stock to meet the current surge in demand.

Kawasaki dealers in Australia are expected to receive only a couple of examples of the 2022 Ultra 310 series, with the remainder to arrive in the second half of the year.

For now, the challenge for Jet Ski and personal watercraft enthusiasts – as well as those new to the sport – is not price, but simply finding a vessel to buy.

*Price does not include trailer, registration or $1399 "on-water" fee

Dealers representing all three personal watercraft brands quote between $1500 and $2000 for a new jet ski trailer (with trailer registration). More detail – model by model – on the 2022 Kawasaki Ultra 310 Jet Ski range can be found here.

Related content: