Class B Market Share, Sales and Shipments

[stanw909]

Re Class B market share. Thor doesn't manufacture a Class B right?

[markopolo]

Thor manufactures Class B's under the Airstream brand.

This is a copy & paste of part of an email to me from Statistical Surveys Inc. from when I asked them about it:

we only count Airstreams in the class B report for Thor

[markopolo]

March 2015 Class B Sales stats have been posted on RV Business: http://www.rvbusiness.com/2015/05/ssi-c ... -24-7-ytd/

Sales were up 41.9%

Year-over-year Class B motorhome retail registrations soared 41.9% in March and 24.7% for the first quarter, according to the latest report from Statistical Surveys Inc. (SSI).

Here's the Class B market share breakdown:

January 2015
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. 35.1% market share.
Thor Industries Inc. 27.3% market share.
Winnebago Industries Inc. 22.7% market share.

February 2015
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. 29.5% market share.
Winnebago Industries Inc. 27.9% market share.
Thor Industries Inc. 26.6% market share.

March 2015
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. 29.1% market share.
Winnebago Industries Inc. 28.8% market share.
Thor Industries Inc. 24.6% market share.
Pleasure-Way 12.9% market share.

It's great to see Pleasure-Way in the report again. Only 0.3% separates 1st & 2nd place according to the report.

[markopolo]

April 2015 Class B Shipment stats have been published on RVIA's site http://www.rvia.org



Shipments are up 14.8% compared to last April. They are up 12.7% year to date.

Things are still looking good!

[markopolo]

April 2015 Class B Sales stats have been posted on RV Business: http://www.rvbusiness.com/2015/06/ss...-climb-19-ytd/

Sales were up 6.7%

Quote:
Year-over-year Class B motorhome retail registrations grew 6.7% in April and 18.9% for the first four months, according to the latest report from Statistical Surveys Inc. (SSI).
Here's the Class B market share breakdown:

February 2015
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. 29.5% market share.
Winnebago Industries Inc. 27.9% market share.
Thor Industries Inc. 26.6% market share.

March 2015
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. 29.1% market share.
Winnebago Industries Inc. 28.8% market share.
Thor Industries Inc. 24.6% market share.
Pleasure-Way 12.9% market share.

April 2015
Winnebago Industries Inc. 30.6% market share.
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. 29.2% market share.
Thor Industries Inc. 23.6% market share.
Pleasure-Way 12.1% market share.

The big news is that Winnebago is the top-selling manufacturer. They just have to keep doing what they've been doing. It works.

[booster]

There had been a lot talk here, for a long time, over what the consequences of the out of control escalation of prices would be.

I think that this shows that the market is speaking, and it looks like bang for the buck value is winning over glitz and cutting edge, at least for the masses.

It is really nice to see the market expand like this, with a wide range of cost and features. For a while it looked like there would be only high end units. Now everyone has choices.

[markopolo]

Winnebago has been steadily growing their market share.

They offer a distinct variety of units so you can choose between them, they're easy to use, the prices are good, detailed schematics & owners manuals & interactive parts catalog are all online.

The new 59K model looks to be another home-run for them. Comfort & simplicity.

[Davydd]

I'll pose this interesting paradox. Those are units sold. Clearly it seems Winnebago's surge is coming from Travato interest but then a 6.7% growth with a potential 50% less profit margin doesn't equate in the long run. The B market with less than 7% of all motorhome sales and less than 1% of all RV sales is still a problem.

[avanti]

It will be interesting to watch Thor's trajectory. So far, they have pretty much committed themselves to the high end of the B-van market, having given up on the lower-priced Airstream Parkway to concentrate on the very expensive Interstate. Will they try again with a more economical offering? Given their apparent inability to deliver consistent fit and finish even at Interstate prices, it is hard for me to imagine them successfully competing with Winnebago in the cost-effectiveness game. They seem to be doing well with a combination of the Airstream brand, attractive designs and bling. I guess they may be contented to just stay there.

[Boxster1971]

Yes - bling sells. I would have settled for a Winnebago ERA in 2012 when I bought my B-van. I thought it had the best "bang for the buck". But my wife liked the bling of the Airstream Interstate. The Interstate is better equipped then the ERA so I'm happy.

I think all the big three B-van builders have quality issues.

[wincrasher]

I wonder what the product mix is. Surely alot of Winnebago's growth in B's is fueled by Travatos. Interesting is that Thor's position is essentially one model - Airstream Interstate. To be #3 with only one, very pricey model, is pretty interesting. Also, I'd bet that they have the highest margin of all the manufacturers as well.

It grinds me when people infer that Winnebago is less quality than the others. There is no basis for that supposition. True, some of the finishes are of a lesser grade. But that is not quality. All the Winnebagos I've owned have been problem free and without need for repairs or adjustments.

[Boxster1971]

Airstream consistently claims they are #1 in building MB Sprinter B-van conversions. I guess that their benefit from staying with a single platform.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

It grinds me when people infer that Winnebago is less quality than the others. There is no basis for that supposition. True, some of the finishes are of a lesser grade. But that is not quality. All the Winnebagos I've owned have been problem free and without need for repairs or adjustments.

I agree with your point. But it is legitimate to talk about both "materials quality" and "workmanship quality". People don't always make the distinction clear. If I were on a tight budge (or if cost-effectiveness were otherwise a high-priority for me), I would absolutely put Winnebago near the top of my list. The behind-the-panels sloppiness one routinely sees on Roadtreks and Interstates is just disgraceful. OTOH, they clearly score higher on materials and systems quality. If you want it all, you need to go to a smaller upfitter.

[Jostalli]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

It grinds me when people infer that Winnebago is less quality than the others. There is no basis for that supposition. True, some of the finishes are of a lesser grade. But that is not quality. All the Winnebagos I've owned have been problem free and without need for repairs or adjustments.

No basis anymore at least. The Travato 59G has more evidence of CAD than any other commercial B I have seen. ABS formed to fit the exact space available. They also import cabinetry from Tecnoform out of Italy. Fixtures , hinges and appliances are high end.

[bobojay]

I agree with wincrasher on the quality end of things. The finishes may not be the best, but I've never seen any "construction issues" on either of the WGO products we've had other than one small trim piece came loose on our ERA that I fixed in a couple minutes with a tack and a dab of glue. We had a water leak in our Navion, but that was an age issue, not assembly quality.
When you see the 59K come out in quantity, I believe you'll see WGO increase it's lead gap over RT. More models to come.
Maybe we'll see an offshoot of the FitRV's new Travato as a separate model after they see the reception they get at the WIT rally next month.
Jim Hamill up at RT must be thinking of ways to make excuses on their market % fall so they can still claim a sales lead....??

[Jostalli]

Roadtrek is a far cry from progressive when it comes to design. All of their interiors look the same for almost a decade. They need to fix this fast.

Anyone can add solar and LiFePO4 batteries. I'm doing that myself and I'm far from an expert. I'm top balancing cells in my kitchen right now.

[markopolo]

May 2015 Class B Shipment stats have been published on RVIA's site http://www.rvia.org

Shipments are down 11.3% compared to last May. They are up 5.9% year to date.

May 2015 Class B Shipments.JPG

Next month may show if this is just a temporary blip or the start of a trend.

[Davydd]

Everything is down except the Class Cs. Interesting. I suspect the Unity, Plateau XL, etc. are taking a nip out of Class Bs. On Sprinter-Source.com there is much more discussion on Class Cs than Bs. LTV has pretty much thrown in the towel on Class Bs. It might be hard for them to get back in. With Great West Van I am guessing there were plenty of nails but with the market down this was surely one coffin nail.

[Exechobo]

In light of this data, the manufacturers willing to make vans that have even smaller niches, like the Travato 59K and the Road Trek Zion ETrek are pushing the envelope. This risk taking may further expand the B Van market. Our personal preferences are now being met with mainline units, so a used van has less appeal. Good times rolling!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[markopolo]

May 2015 Class B Sales stats have been posted on RV Business: http://www.rvbusiness.com/2015/07/ssi-b-sales-grow-50-for-may-up-25-6-ytd/

Sales were up 50% ! Winnebago has extended their lead.

Year-over-year Class B motorhome retail registrations soared 50% in May and 25.6% for the first five months, according to the latest report from Statistical Surveys Inc. (SSI).

Here's the Class B market share breakdown:

March 2015
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. 29.1% market share.
Winnebago Industries Inc. 28.8% market share.
Thor Industries Inc. 24.6% market share.
Pleasure-Way 12.9% market share.

April 2015
Winnebago Industries Inc. 30.6% market share.
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. 29.2% market share.
Thor Industries Inc. 23.6% market share.
Pleasure-Way 12.1% market share.

May 2015
Winnebago Industries Inc. 32.5% market share.
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. 27.8% market share.
Thor Industries Inc. 24.5% market share.
Pleasure-Way 10.7% market share.

Winnebago continues to be the top-selling manufacturer. Roadtrek needs to stop this slide if they want to be the leader at the end of this year.

Is the #1 spot at year end important enough that we'll see big discounts later on this year?