We produce or supply a variety of replacement parts and accessories for our motorcycles. Motorcycle accessories include saddle bags, handlebars, backrests, exhaust, windshields, seats, oil and various chrome accessories. We also market a full line of recreational apparel for our product lines,motorcycles, including helmets, jackets, bibs and pants, leathers and hats. In 2012, we acquired Teton Outfitters, LLC (d/b/a Klim), which specializes in premium technical riding gear for the snowmobile and motorcycle industries. Apparel is designed to our specifications, purchased from independent vendors and sold by us through our dealers and distributors, and online under our brand names.

TAP is a leading participant in 1992. In September 2004, we announced our decision to ceaseaftermarket parts and accessories for light trucks, Jeeps, sport-utility vehicles and other four-wheel drive vehicles. TAP sells through its retail stores, call center and e-commerce sites, while also supporting numerous independent accessory retailers/installers through their wholesale distribution network.

Our products are primarily assembled at our original16 global manufacturing facility in Roseau, Minnesota and at our facilities in Spirit Lake, Iowa, and its surrounding areas, Osceola, Wisconsin, Monterrey, Mexico, Opole, Poland and various locations across France. Since our product lines incorporate similar technology, substantially the same equipment and personnel are employed across production in North America.facilities. We are vertically integrated in several key components of

Contract carriers ship our products from our manufacturing and distribution facilities to our customers. We maintain several leased wholegoods distribution centers where final set-up and up-fitting is completed for certain models before shipment to customers.

We produce and deliver our products throughout the year based on dealer, distributor and customer orders. Beginning in 2008, we began testing a new dealer ordering process called Maximum Velocity Program (MVP), where ORVSide-by-side orders are placed in approximately two-week intervals for the high volume dealers driven by retail sales trends at the individual dealership. Smaller dealers utilize a similar MVP process, but on a less frequent ordering cycle. Effective in 2010, the MVP process was being utilized by all North American ORV dealers. For MVP dealers, ORVSide-by-side retail sales activity at the dealer level drives orders which are incorporated into each product’s production scheduling. International distributor ORV orders are taken throughout the year. Orders for each year’s production of snowmobiles are placed by the dealers

We utilize our Retail Flow Management (RFM) ordering system for Victory motorcycles,motorcycle, side-by-side and now also use it as the ordering system for Indian motorcycles. In late 2014, we began utilizing RFM for certain ATV dealers. The RFM system allows dealers to order daily, create a segment stocking order, and eventually reduce order fulfillment times to what we expect will be less than 18 days. Prior to RFM, Victory motorcycle dealers would place annual orders

For snowmobiles, we offer a pre-order SnowCheck program in the summer. For non-MVP and RFM dealers and products, units are builtspring for our customers that assists us in production planning. This program allows our customers to order each year, subject to fluctuations in market conditionsa true factory-customized snowmobile by selecting various options, including chassis, track, suspension, colors and supplier lead times. The anticipated volume of units to be produced is substantially committed to by dealers and distributors prior to production.

a sufficient number of qualified dealers and distributors exist in all geographic areas to permit an orderly transition whenever necessary. In addition, we sell Polaris vehicles directly to military and government agencies and other national accounts and we supply a highly differentiated side-by-side vehicle branded Bobcat to their dealerships in North America. In 2013, we entered into a partnership with Ariens Company ("Ariens"), a Brillion, Wisconsin based manufacturer of outdoor power equipment. Through the partnership, we anticipate leveraging each other's dealer networks, sharing certain technologies, research and development and supplying Ariens with a highly differentiated work vehicle to sell through its dealer network. In 2014, we began shipping vehicles to Ariens under the terms of the partnership.

We have arrangements with Polaris Acceptance (United States) and GEWells Fargo affiliates (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, China and New Zealand) to provide floor plan financing for our dealers. A majority of our North American sales of snowmobiles, ORVs, motorcycles SVs and related PG&A are financed under arrangements whereby we are paid within a few days of shipment of our product. We participate in the cost of dealer financing and have agreed to repurchase products from the finance companies under certain circumstances and subject to certain limitations. We have not historically been required to repurchase a significant number of units; however, there can be no assurance that this will continue to be the case. If necessary, we will adjust our sales return allowance at the time of sale should we anticipate material repurchases of units financed through the finance companies. See Note 89 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of these financial services arrangements.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Polaris entered intohas a multi-year contract with HSBC Bank Nevada, National Association (“HSBC”), formerly known as Household Bank (SB), N.A., under which HSBC managed our private label credit card program under the StarCard label for the purchase of Polaris products. Since then, HSBC’s U.S. Credit Card and Retail Services business has been acquired by Capital One. Our current agreement with Capital One expires in October 2015.

In November 2014, aA wholly-owned subsidiary of Polaris entered into a multi-year agreement with Evergreen Bank Group in September 2016. The agreement established Performance Finance as a division of Evergreen Bank Group, and is exclusively focused on the financing of Polaris motorcycles. The agreement replaced our previous arrangement with Freedom Road. The current installment credit agreement under which Performance Finance provides installment credit lending for motorcycles expires in December 2021.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Polaris has a multi-year contract with FreedomRoad Financial (“FreedomRoad”) pursuant toSynchrony Bank, under which FreedomRoad agreed to makeSynchrony Bank makes available closed-end installment consumer and commercial credit to customers of our dealers for both Polaris and non-Polaris products. The current installment credit agreement under which FreedomRoadSynchrony Bank provides installment credit lending for motorcyclesPolaris products expires in February 2016.December 2020.

We expended $314.4$471.8 million, $270.3$342.2 million and $210.4$316.7 million for sales and marketing activities in 2014, 20132017, 2016 and 2012,2015, respectively.

We have approximately 700950 employees who are engaged in the development and testing of existing products and research and development of new products and improved production techniques, located primarily in our Roseau and Wyoming, Minnesota facilities and in Burgdorf, Switzerland. Our SV acquisitions of GEM, Goupil and Aixam included research and development resources for their respective product lines. We believe Polaris was the first to develop, for wide commercial use, independent front suspensions for snowmobiles, long travel rear suspensions for snowmobiles, liquid cooled snowmobile brakes, hydraulic brakes for snowmobiles, the three cylinder engine in snowmobiles, the adaptation of the MacPherson strut front suspension, “on demand” all-wheel drive systems and the Concentric Drive System for use in ORVs, the application of a forced air cooled variable power transmission system in ORVs and the use of electronic fuel injection for ORVs.

We utilize internal combustion engine testing facilities to design and optimize engine configurations for our products. We utilize specialized facilities for matching engine, exhaust system and clutch performance parameters in our products to achieve desired fuel consumption, power output, noise level and other objectives. Our engineering department is

equipped to make small quantities of new product prototypes for testing and for the planning of manufacturing procedures. In addition, we maintain numerous facilities where each of the products is extensively tested under actual use conditions. We utilize our Wyoming, Minnesota facility for engineering, design and development personnel for our line of engines and powertrains, ORVs, Victory, Indian and Slingshot motorcycles, and SVs. In 2010, we acquiredcertain Global Adjacent Market vehicles, and our Roseau, Minnesota facility for our snowmobile and certain ATV research and development. We also own Swissauto Powersports Ltd., an engineering company that develops high performance and high efficiency engines and innovative vehicles.

We expended $148.5$238.3 million, $139.2$185.1 million and $127.4$166.4 million for research and development activities in 2014, 20132017, 2016 and 2012,2015, respectively.

We rely on a combination of patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and nondisclosure and non-competition agreements to establish and protect our intellectual property and proprietary technology. We have filed and obtained numerous patents in the United States and abroad, and regularly file patent applications worldwide in our continuing effort to establish and protect our proprietary technology. Additionally, we have numerous registered trademarks, trade names and logos in the United States, Canada and other international locations.countries.

The off-road vehicle, snowmobile, motorcycle, people mobility and small vehicle marketswork utility solutions, and aftermarket industries in the United States, Canada and other global markets are highly competitive. As a powersports original equipment manufacturer (OEM), our competition primarily comes from North American and Asian manufacturers. For our aftermarket business, our competition is highly fragmented across the retail and online channels. Competition in such markets is based upon a number of factors, including price, quality, reliability, styling, product features and warranties. At the dealer level, competition is based on a number of factors, including sales and marketing support programs (such as financing and cooperative advertising). Certain of our competitors are more diversified and have financial and marketing resources that are substantially greater than those of Polaris.

 We believe that our products are competitively priced and our sales and marketing support programs for dealers are comparable to those provided by our competitors. Our products compete with many other recreational products for the discretionary spending of consumers, and to a lesser extent, with other vehicles designed for utility applications.

In August 2008, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (“Act”) was passed which, among other things, required ATV manufacturers and distributors to comply with previously voluntary American National Standards Institute (ANSI) safety standards developed by the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA). The Act also requires CPSC to update the mandatory standard, if it deems doing so is appropriate, based on updates to the voluntary ANSI/SVIA standards, which has occurred. We believe that our products comply with the ANSI/SVIA standards, and we have had an action plan on file with the CPSC since 1998 regarding safety

In October 2009, the CPSC published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking regarding ROV safety under the Consumer Product Safety Act. In December 2014, the CPSC published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that includes proposed mandatory safety standards for ROVs in the areas of lateral stability, steering and handling, and occupant retention. Polaris, by itself and through ROHVA, has expressed concerns about the proposed mandatory standards, whether they would actually reduce ROV incident rates, whether the proposed tests are repeatable and appropriate for ROVs, and the unintended safety consequences that could result from them. As a result of those concerns, revisions to the voluntary ANSI/ROHVA standard were proposed. In 2015, CPSC staff expressed support for the proposed 2016 revisions to the ANSI standard, and subsequently recommended that CPSC terminates its rule-making process. We are unable to predict the outcome of the CPSC rule-making process or the ultimate impact of any resulting rules on our business and operating results.

We are a member of the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association (ISMA), a trade association formed to promote safety in the manufacture and use of snowmobiles, among other things. ISMA members include all of the major snowmobile manufacturers. The ISMA members are also members of the Snowmobile Safety and Certification Committee, which promulgated voluntary sound and safety standards for snowmobiles that have been adopted as regulations in some states of the United States and in Canada. These standards require testing and evaluation by an independent testing laboratory. We believe that our snowmobiles have always complied with safety standards relevant to snowmobiles.

MotorcycleMotorcycles and SVscertain people mobility vehicles are subject to federal vehicle safety standards administered by the NHTSA and are also subject to various state vehicle equipment standards. Our Slingshot vehicle is classified as a motorcycle under U.S. federal law, but may be classified differently in other jurisdictions. We believe our motorcycles (including Slingshot) and SVspeople mobility vehicles comply with applicable federal and state safety standards.

Our products are also subject to international standards related to safety in places where we sell our products outside the United States. We believe that our motorcycles, SVs, ORVs, snowmobiles, snow-bikes and snowmobilespeople mobility vehicles have complied with applicable safety standards in the United States and other international locations.

Due to the seasonality of our business and certain changes in production cycles, total employment levels vary throughout the year. Despite such variations in employment levels, employee turnover has not been high. During 2014,2017, on a worldwide basis, we employed an average of approximately 7,00011,000 full-time persons, a 3020 percent increase from 2013.2016, driven by the acquisition of TAP. Approximately 2,9004,400 of our employees are salaried. We consider our relations with our employees to be excellent.

 Available Information

Our Internet website is http://www.polaris.com. We make available free of charge, on or through our website, our annual, quarterly and current reports, and any amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filing such reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We also make available through our website our corporate governance materials, including our Corporate Governance Guidelines, the charters of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and Technology Committee of our Board of Directors and our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. Any shareholder or other interested party wishing to receive a copy of these corporate governance materials should write to Polaris Industries Inc., 2100 Highway 55, Medina, Minnesota 55340, Attention: Investor Relations. Information contained on our website is not part of this report.

This 20142017 Annual Report contains not only historical information, but also “forward-looking statements” intended to qualify for the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These “forward-looking statements” can generally be identified as such because the context of the statement will include words such as we or our management “believes,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “estimates” or words of similar import. Similarly, statements that describe our future plans, objectives or goals are also forward-looking. Forward-looking statements may also be made from time to time in oral presentations, including telephone conferences and/or webcasts open to the public. Shareholders, potential investors and others are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause results in future periods to differ materially from those anticipated by some of the statements made in this report, including the risks and uncertainties described below under the heading entitled “Item 1A—Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this report. The risks and uncertainties discussed in this report are not exclusive and other factors that we may consider immaterial or do not anticipate may emerge as significant risks and uncertainties.

Any forward-looking statements made in this report or otherwise speak only as of the date of such statement, and we undertake no obligation to update such statements to reflect actual results or changes in factors or assumptions affecting such forward-looking statements. We advise you, however, to consult any further disclosures made on related subjects in future quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K that are filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Mr. Wine joined Polaris Industries Inc. as Chief Executive Officer on September 1, 2008, and was named Chairman of the Board of Directors in January 2013. Prior to joining Polaris, Mr. Wine was President of Fire Safety Americas, a division of United Technologies, a provider of high technology products and services to the building systems and aerospace industries, from 2007 to August 2008. Prior to that, Mr. Wine held senior leadership positions at Danaher Corp. in the United States and Europe from 2003 to 2007, including President of its Jacob Vehicle Systems and Veeder-Roots subsidiaries, and Vice President and General Manager, Manufacturing Programs in Europe. From 1996 to 2003, Mr. Wine held a number of operations and executive posts, both international and domestic with Allied Signal Corporation's Aerospace Division.

Mr. Pucel joined Polaris in December 2014 as Executive Vice President—Global Operations, Engineering and Lean. Prior to joining Polaris, Mr. Pucel was with Boston Scientific Corporation (BSC), a global provider of medical solutions. Most recently,solutions, where Mr. Pucel held the position of Executive Vice President of Global Operations, Quality and Technology and was a member of BSC’s Executive Committee from 2004 to 2014. Since 2004, he managed BSC’s manufacturing facilities, supply chain and numerous distributions centers; in 2010, he added responsibility for enterprise-wide Lean and research and development activities.

Ms. Clark Dougherty joined Polaris in January 2018 as Senior Vice President—General Counsel, Compliance Officer and Secretary. Prior to joining Polaris, Ms. Clark Dougherty was deputy general counsel at General Motors for Global Markets, Autonomous Vehicles and Transportation as a Service since June 2009.2017. Prior to that Mr. Balan held various marketing, general management, business development, and strategy roles within Danaher Corp. from 2001 to 2007. Mr. Balan’s work history also includes various strategy, marketing, and sales management roles with Emerson Electric and Colfax Corporation.

Mr. Williams was appointed Senior Attorney for Honeywell Inc.Vice President—Chief Human Resources Officer in September 2015. Prior to this Mr. Williams was Vice President—Human Resources since April 2011.

Mr. Dougherty has been President—International since September 2015.  Prior to his current role, he was Vice President—Asia Pacific and Latin America since August 2011. Mr. Dougherty joined the company in 1998 as International Sales Manager, and has held several positions, including Vice President of Global New Market Development and Vice President and General Manager of the ATV division during his tenure. Prior to Polaris, Mr. Dougherty was employed at Trident Medical International, a trading company.

Mr. Eastman has been President—Parts, Garments and Accessories since September 2015. Prior to his current role, he was Vice President—Parts, Garments and Accessories since February 2012.

The following are significant factors known to us that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, or operating results, as well as adversely affect the value of an investment in our common stock.

Our products are subject to extensive laws and regulations relating to safety, environmental and other regulations promulgated by the United States federal government and individual states as well as international regulatory authorities. Failure to comply with applicable regulations could result in fines, increased expenses to modify our products and harm to our reputation, all of which could have an adverse effect on our operations. In addition, future regulations could require additional safety standards or emission reductions that would require additional expenses and/or modification of product offerings in order to maintain compliance with applicable regulations. Our products are also subject to laws and regulations that restrict the use or manner of use during certain hours and locations, and these laws and regulations could decrease the popularity and sales of our products. We continue to monitor regulatory activities in conjunction with industry associations and support balanced and appropriate programs that educate the product user on safe use of our products and how to protect the environment.

We distribute our products through numerous dealers and distributors and rely on them to retail our products to the end customers. Our sales growth and profitability could be adversely affected if deterioration of economic or business conditions results in a weakening of the financial condition of a material number of our dealers and distributors. Additionally, weak demand for, or quality issues with, our products may cause dealers and distributors to voluntarily or involuntarily reduce or terminate their relationship with us. Further, if we fail to establish and maintain an appropriate level of dealers and distributors for each of our products, we may not obtain adequate market coverage for the desired level of retail sales of our products.

We have arrangements with each of Capital One,Performance Finance, Sheffield Financial and Synchrony Bank and FreedomRoad to make retail financing available to consumers who purchase our products in the United States. During 2014,2017, consumers financed approximately 3231 percent of the vehicles we sold in the United States through the Capital One revolving retail credit and Sheffield, Synchrony Bank, and FreedomRoadthese installment retail credit programs. Furthermore, some customers use financing from lenders who do not partner with us, such as local banks and credit unions. There can be no assurance that retail financing will continue to be available in the same amounts and under the same terms that had been previously available to our customers. If retail financing is not available to customers on satisfactory terms, it is possible that our sales and profitability could be adversely affected. Our income from financial services is also affected by changes in interest rates.

We hold patents and trademarks relating to various aspects of our products, such as our patented “on demand” all-wheel drive, and believe that proprietary technical know-how is important to our business. Proprietary rights relating to our products are protected from unauthorized use by third parties only to the extent that they are covered by valid and enforceable patents or trademarks or are maintained in confidence as trade secrets. We cannot be certain that we will be issued any patents from any pending or future patent applications owned by or licensed to us or that the claims allowed under any issued patents will be sufficiently broad to protect our technology. In the absence of enforceable patent or trademark protection, we may be vulnerable to competitors who attempt to copy our products, gain access to our trade secrets and know-how or diminish our brand through unauthorized use of our trademarks, all of which could adversely affect our business. Others may initiate litigation to challenge the validity of our patents, or allege that we infringe their patents, or they may use their resources to design comparable products that do not infringe our patents. We may incur substantial costs if our competitors initiate litigation to challenge the validity of our patents, or allege that we infringe their patents, or if we initiate any proceedings to protect our proprietary rights. If the outcome of any such litigation is unfavorable to us, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be adversely affected. Regardless of whether litigation relating to our intellectual property rights is successful, the litigation could significantly increase our costs and divert management’s attention from operation of our business, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. We also cannot be certain that our products or technologies have not infringed or will not infringe the proprietary rights of others. Any such infringement could cause third parties, including our competitors, to bring claims against us, resulting in significant costs, possible damages and substantial uncertainty.

Lack of snowfall in any year in any particular geographic region may adversely affect snowmobile retail sales and related PG&A sales in that region. Additionally, to the extent that unfavorable weather conditions are exacerbated by global climate change or other factors, our sales may be affected to a greater degree than we manufacturehave previously experienced. There is no assurance that weather conditions or natural disasters could not have a material effect on our sales, production capability or component supply continuity for any of our products.

Our operations are dependent upon attracting and retaining skilled employees, including skilled labor. Our future success depends on our continuing ability to identify, hire, develop, motivate, retain and promote skilled personnel for all areas of our organization. 

Our success depends on attracting and retaining qualified personnel. Our ability to sustain and grow our business requires us to hire, retain and develop a highly skilled and diverse management team and workforce. Failure to ensure that we have the leadership capacity with the necessary skill set and experience could impede our ability to deliver our growth objectives and execute our strategic plan. In addition, any unplanned turnover or inability to attract and retain key employees, including managers, could have a negative effect on our business, financial condition and/or results of operations.

Not Applicable.

We own substantially all tooling and machinery (including heavy presses, conventional and computer-controlled welding facilities for steel and aluminum, assembly lines and paint lines) used in the manufacture of our products. We make ongoing capital investments in our facilities. These investments have increased production capacity for our products. We believe our current manufacturing and distribution facilities are adequate in size and suitable for our present manufacturing and distribution needs. However, we expect a significant amount of capital expenditures in 2015, which will expand our current manufacturing facilities in anticipation of the capacity and capability requirements of expected future growth. In January 2015, we announced plans to build a new production facility in Huntsville, Alabama to provide additional capacity and flexibility. The 600,000 square-foot facility will focus on ORV production. We will break ground on the facility in the first quarter of 2015 with completion expected in the first half of 2016.