Revving Up Interest in the Utility Vehicle Market

February 26, 2018

Since it was announced the last year, the buzz and excitement over the new Cat® Utility Vehicle (UTV) has grown to a fever pitch. We sat down with Norma Aldinger, marketing manager for Building Construction Products, to ask some burning questions about this exciting new offering.

The Cat Utility Vehicle is a unique product for Caterpillar. Why did we decide to offer this product?

The request for a utility vehicle (UTV) came from our dealers and our customers. They wanted a utility vehicle that was Cat tough, yet quiet, comfortable and affordable. This vehicle can not only be used by many of our current customers, but it is also a great product to bring new customers in to Caterpillar.  

Let’s talk about how this new offering is important to Caterpillar’s strategy. Why is it important to bring new customers into Caterpillar?

As part of Caterpillar’s enterprise strategy, we’re intensifying our focus on customers’ evolving needs, working to provide different products for different application needs. The Cat UTV is all about growth and expanding what we can offer our customers. The Cat UTV is an affordable and exciting option to provide great value to loyal Caterpillar customers and appeal to new customers who are attracted to the quality and reliability that Cat is known for.

What have you been hearing from customers about the Cat Utilitiy Vehicle?

The customer feedback is fantastic! Customers are loving how our utility vehicle is a "work horse." The Cat UTV can be used for work applications of all kinds: It can transport people, work tools, equipment, gear or anything else you can think of. Or it can be used solely for transportation across the job site, the farm or virtually any other terrain. Customers have also noted how quiet and comfortable our cab is. Most importantly – they were happy that our Cat UTV is competitively priced. The CUV82 (gas, 2 seater) has an MSRP of $14,999.

Promoting a brand-new product can be challenging. What is our go-to-market strategy to make it stand out from the crowd?

Because this product really reaches new customers, our typical ways of marketing aren’t enough. Before, we would only work with our traditional trade press editors to promote and spread the word. Today, we’re still doing that, but we have also expanded to work with editors focused on the agriculture and utility vehicle industry to ensure that customers who need utility vehicles get to see this exciting new player. For example, this product has been featured in UTV Action Magazine, Landscape Business, Motorcycle & Powersports News, and AgWeb, just to name a few.

When can I experience, or even purchase, a Cat UTV?

Production doesn’t start until the summer of 2018, so it will take a while to get Cat UTVs to dealerships and build up inventory. By 2019, we expect to have availability across most of our dealerships in the U.S. and Canada. We encourage anyone interested to work with their local Cat dealer to get a better estimate of when Cat UTVs will be available near them. People can also experience some of the features by visiting cat.com/utv.