After emerging as a new player in the ATV industry over the last few years, Tracker ATVs continue to grow in popularity.
Offered at both Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s locations, this newer line of ATVs benefits from the exposure to the more than 200 million combined visitors these retailers see annually.
And while their attractive build styles and prices tend to catch the eye of many outdoor enthusiasts who see them on display, seeing the name Tracker on anything besides boats raises some questions.
One of the most common questions is who makes Tracker ATVs?
The answer to this question is not quite as simple as Tracker Off Road would have you believe.
Are They Really American Made?
Well, that depends on what your definition of “American Made” is.
Tracker Off Road actually does a good job of explaining the legal definition of American Made on their website, but then throws in some misleading wording and phrases like “virtually no other brands can claim being Made in the USA” and never directly answers the question as to whether they themselves are.
That’s because the answer is “no”, Tracker ATVs are not technically “Made in the USA”.
“Assembled in the USA” would be the accurate description, just like the many other brands they say fall into this category on their site.
But this shouldn’t be perceived as a negative, as a review of Tracker ATVs finds that they’re actually quality machines as a whole.
Assembled In The USA By Textron
Tracker Off Road is partnered with Textron to help design and assemble their ATVs.
The assembly takes place in Textron’s three US plants based in Thief River Falls (MN), St. Cloud (MN), and Augusta (GA) by US workers.
Textron is the same company Tracker partnered with over 40 years ago to help launch and build their successful and well-known line of boats.
Textron product lines also include Arctic Cat side by sides, ATVs and snowmobiles, E-Z-GO golf carts, and Cushman utility vehicles.
Who Makes The Engines, Drivetrains & Main Components?
Textron/Tracker source most of their overseas parts from a company called Kymco.
Most of the key components of these quads including the engines, drivetrains, and frames are manufactured by Kymco in Taiwan.
A Tracker 300 ATV review shows this model is pretty much a Kymco ATV with a few tweaks and branding by Tracker.
These parts are then sent to Textron’s locations in the United States, where they are assembled with the Tracker’s styling, appearance and branding to make them unique to Tracker.
The proof of this is usually included right there on your new Tracker ATV, where you’ll find “Kymco” stamped on these components and/or Kymco stickers on a number of the components.
Is Kymco Legit?
Kymco is a Taiwanese company that has been around for a long time and whose engines, drivetrains, and other components have been proven to be reliable over the years.
They produce over 500,000 vehicles annually, most of which are scooters, motorcycles and ATVs.
When it comes to ATVs, Kymco does offer their own line of models, but mostly partners with a number of brands to produce the ATVs/components which are then assembled and marketed under those brands’ own names.
Tracker is not the only brand to do this, as some bigger names like Kawasaki, Polaris, and Arctic Cat have also been known to use Kymco styling and/or components.
The Kawasaki Brute Force 300 is essentially a Kymco quad, styled very similar to Kymco’s MXU 270 using many of the same Kymco components.
Tracker & Kymco
Each of Tracker’s smaller ATVs including the Tracker 90, 300, 450, and 500 are made with various amounts of Kymco components.
Even so, a review of the Tracker 450 ATV shows this model to be high-quality.
While the plastics and some accessories may be manufactured by Textron to give Tracker ATVs their own unique look and build styles, they still greatly resemble Kymco’s ATVs.
Tracker & Arctic Cat
Arctic Cat also partners with Textron, and you’ll see that many of Arctic Cat’s past and present ATV offerings greatly resemble those of Tracker.
So much so that there has been plenty of speculation that ATVs offered by Arctic Cat and Tracker are the same exact ATVs, just with different names on them.
While they are not the same quads, their build styles are so similar that it’s easy to see why some would pose that question.
And to further fuel the speculation, the Tracker 600 (and the 570 and 700 when they were still in production) is assembled in the same Textron plant that serves as Arctic Cat’s headquarters.
In fact, many owners have confirmed finding Arctic Cat stickers on the various components of their Tracker ATVs in the past.
And it’s also speculated that parts for Arctic Cat and Tracker ATVs of the same class are interchangeable as the quads and built styles are so similar.
Even so, a Tracker 600 ATV review shows this model to be one of the best ATVs for the money.
About Tracker Off Road
Tracker Off Road was formed in 2019 as a subsidiary of Tracker, which is part of Bass Pro’s White River Marine Group and specializes in boating.
Tracker Off Road offers both ATV and UTVs, which are “designed and manufactured” by Textron, although we’ve already established that’s only partially how it goes down.
Tracker’s off-road vehicles are offered through Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s, as well as by other independent dealers.
Upon introducing Tracker Off Road in 2019, an event was held at Bass Pro headquarters in Springfield, Missouri with celebrities Luke Bryan, Peyton Manning, professional bull rider “Cool Hand” Luke Snyder and fishing legend Jimmy Houston helping to unveil and promote the new vehicles.
Additionally, NASCAR driver Martin Truex, Jr. displayed the Tracker logo on his team’s car for the 2019 season.
Final Thoughts
While Tracker ATVs utilize a number of overseas components and are not technically American made, this is nothing new in the ATV world as many of the big name manufacturers follow a similar process.
And it doesn’t have a negative effect on the quality of these ATVs, as owner feedback on them is overwhelmingly positive.
For more on Tracker, check out the following guides before you go:
