By: Scott Way
Beginning in 2022, Mercury Marine will be the exclusive outboard and sterndrive supplier for Crownline Boats.
In a company statement, Brunswick Corporation announced a significant commitment to Crownline that will see the West Frankfort, Illinois boat maker transition exclusively to Mercury outboards, sterndrives, and all related power products starting next year. Previously, the company had used Yamaha and Suzuki products in conjunction with a partial Mercury offering.
This marks the beginnings of another dynamic year for Mercury Marine, who made several moves leading into 2021 including the launch of the forward facing Bravo 4S Drive, as well as other strategic partnerships with growing brands.
According to Randy Caruana, vice president of sales in North/Central America and Asia Pacific for Mercury Marine, a division of Brunswick Corporatio, “Mercury has always been a strong Crownline partner and we are pleased to enhance this partnership with Crownline as they are poised for growth. The Crownline team continues to innovate and develop exciting new models that are fully featured and provide exceptional value. Crownline’s no‑compromise approach, matched with Mercury’s advanced offerings, will deliver outstanding value, performance and owner satisfaction. Mercury’s outboards and sterndrives in the mid‑ to high‑horsepower range offer the lowest sound levels, more standard features, outstanding performance and exceptional fuel economy, making them the perfect match with the Crownline brand."
Kevin Riem, the vice president and general manager of Crownline Boats, made the announcement to their 90 international dealers by stating that “We will pair our expertise in new‑product design with Mercury’s expertise in propulsion systems and integrated parts‑and‑service platforms. We are very excited about this strategic partnership and firmly believe it will result in enhanced product quality and better overall service experiences for consumers after the sale."
Riem also made note of the natural symbiosis between Crownline's growing needs and Mercury's diverse portfolio, stating that “Mercury’s current lineup of outboards has exceeded our expectations and those of the retail consumer. Likewise, their sterndrive offerings continue to impress. And now that they have delivered an additional product platform for the wakesurfing, wakeboarding, and tow‑sports market, the decision really fell into focus for our team.”
All told, Crownline currently offers 34 total models including 12 sterndrive models, 11 outboard models, 3 cabin cruisers, and 8 wakesurf models. With the addition of Mercury's available platform, Crownline now sits poised to offer even better performance and economy than ever before. According to Riem, “We are excited about our planned advances in new‑product design and the focus that our decision today will bring to our team in the future. Now that we can focus on one supply chain and one set of dash panels, gauges, controls, etc., we are better positioned to implement upgrades to our future helm designs."
To get the latest details the 2021 Crownline offering you can visit their website. To see the capability of Mercury outboard on the Crownline E29 XS check out the video below:
