Diesel outselling gas in Class B sector

[markopolo]

Interesting fact in this RVIA report summarized on RV Business: RVIA ’15 Industry Profile Tracks Growth, Trends | RV Business

In the Class B sector, 64.7% of total units were built on diesel chassis while 35.3% were built on a gas platform.

Roughly 2/3rds diesel & 1/3 gas! I'm a little bit surprised by that.

My guess is that the vast majority of those diesel units are MB Sprinters.

That stat defines the future used B market place. Prices will continue to be high and gas powered Promaster based B's for example should hold their value well as there won't be many for sale. Just my opinion of course.

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by markopolo

Interesting fact in this RVIA report summarized on RV Business: RVIA ’15 Industry Profile Tracks Growth, Trends | RV Business



Roughly 2/3rds diesel & 1/3 gas! I'm a little bit surprised by that.

My guess is that the vast majority of those diesel units are MB Sprinters.

That stat defines the future used B market place. Prices will continue to be high and gas powered Promaster based B's for example should hold their value well as there won't be many for sale. Just my opinion of course.

I think this situation has less to do with demand than what the customer finds available. Mercy B has profited from a marketing triumph a decade ago that invaded the domestic class b/c platform that historically was dominated by Ford and Chevy. They have been able to get away with a 15k premium for the Sprinter platform.

However, the worm is starting to turn. I predict that Sprinter sales will be cut into by the more wallet friendly Ford Transit and the Dodge Promaster platforms. Leisure Travel is in production now with a Ford Transit coach that is diesel powered. Roadtrek is doing well with their Dodge Zion.

Everybody has their own take but IMO, diesel propulsion is not the best choice for a class B that typically sees less than 5-7 thousand miles a year.

[gregmchugh]

At the current time it appears that Ford is not pricing the Transit at enough of a discount relative to the Sprinter to make a significant entry into the Class B market combined with a couple of negatives vs the Sprinter (no swivel driver's seat and lower cargo capacity). This could change as Ford reaches full production and catches up with demand they should be willing to reduce the price and resolve the small issues for camper conversion and introduce higher GVWR models. There was the rumor that Winnebago would be introducing a Transit a Class B later this year which would shake things up...

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

At the current time it appears that Ford is not pricing the Transit at enough of a discount relative to the Sprinter to make a significant entry into the Class B market combined with a couple of negatives vs the Sprinter (no swivel driver's seat and lower cargo capacity). This could change as Ford reaches full production and catches up with demand they should be willing to reduce the price and resolve the small issues for camper conversion and introduce higher GVWR models. There was the rumor that Winnebago would be introducing a Transit a Class B later this year which would shake things up...

I inquired at Quigly regarding their 4WD conversions and they said that converting a Transit to 4WD was a major PITA requiring 246 new parts, raising the price of a Transit conversion significantly.

From what I understand the domestic Transit is a RWD platform but in Europe it is built in FWD.