Class B Market Share, Sales and Shipments

[rockymtnb]

According to RVIA total Class B unit shipments reached 7,222 units, a new record high. That's a 70% increase over last year's total which was curtailed by the Roadtrek/Hymer NA shutdown. More importantly it's a robust 23% increase over 2018 despite the 6 week Covid production shutdown in March-April.

Although the RV industry experienced unprecedented demand in the latter part of 2020 the overall unit shipments for Class C units dropped 16.5% while large Class A units lost 26.7% compared to 2019. Class B was the only motorized RV category to sustain net growth for 2020.

Class B unit shipments by year:
2016 - 4087 units
2017 - 5249 units
2018 - 5881 units
2019 - 4248 units
2020 - 7222 units

[markopolo]

That's fantastic news.

First, congratulations to all the purchasers of brand new units.

Second, for those wanting a pre-owned unit the chances of getting one will increase. More sales of new units today will mean more variety and later model choices of used units in the years to come.

[rockymtnb]

SSI has release the annual market share report for 2020 as follows:

SSI top three Class B by annual sales registrations:

Winnegabo Industries Inc. 49.9%
Thor: 13.9%
Forest River: 9.9%

They also released December only market shares as:

Winnegabo Industries Inc. 48.1%
Thor: 17.7%
Forest River: 10.6%

Those monthly figures seem to indicate a late-year surge by Thor, and a lesser extent Forest River, that otherwise would have been obscured in year-to-date cumulative totals.

[markopolo]

Very interesting Rocky. If the late surge by Thor and Forest River continues then Winnebago's share would seem destined to decline through this year.

It's possible that, as the competition heats up, we might see unit prices decline a bit.

[rockymtnb]

RVIA reports first quarter Class B shipments hit 3066 units this year. This represents a huge increase, more than double the highest Q1 production of previous years.

With monthly production over 1000 units this would appear to portend an annual total over ten thousand units. However supply chain shortages are likely to limit output mid to late this year. In particular automotive chip shortages have shut down or limited van chassis production at all three major suppliers. Those shortages are likely to persist until late 2021.

Q1 Class B unit production:
2016 - 905
2017 - 1235
2018 - 1306
2019 - 842    (Roadtrek/EHGNA closure)
2020 - 1232  (Covid shutdowns began mid March)
2021 - 3066

[GeorgeRa]

I assume that small mom and pop expensive outlets from Portland OR are not included in these numbers. DIY could add significantly to these numbers as well.

https://www.benchmarkvehicles.com/
https://www.outsidevan.com/
https://www.vanspecialties.com/

[rockymtnb]

Originally Posted by GeorgeRa

I assume that small mom and pop expensive outlets from Portland OR are not included in these numbers. DIY could add significantly to these numbers as well.

https://www.benchmarkvehicles.com/
https://www.outsidevan.com/
https://www.vanspecialties.com/

George you are correct, none of those van conversion companies are RVIA members, and thus would not be included in RVIA reported production. In fact barely a handful of custom Class B upfitters are RVIA manufacturers: Advanced RV, Sportsmobile, El Kapitan and ModVans.

Class B vans from smaller upfitters are very common here in the mountain west. We were at a hiking trailhead in Colorado this weekend with six Class B type vans/conversions from VanWorks, TouRig BaseCamp, VanDoIt, and a couple DIY rigs. There were no major RV brand vans present, so by vehicle count there were six Class B's, but only zero by RVIA count.

Non-RVIA units are quite rare in Class A and Class C production. I suspect that if smaller Class B producers were counted in addition to RVIA the Class B totals, which have risen dramatically in the last few years, would equal or exceed Class A production which has been dropping.

[rockymtnb]

RVIA has added one more custom Class B van conversion company to the member list - Ozark Mountain Adventure Vans, a subsidiary of Springfield Coach Group (SCG) which builds custom limousines and shuttle vans. The list of custom Class B RVIA manufacturers now includes:

• Advanced RV
• El Kapitan vans
• Modvans
• Ozark Mountain Adventure Vans
• Sportsmobile

RVIA vehicle certification is required for some RV insurance and finance contracts and thus may become a market differentiator as these small van companies proliferate.

[ilmor]

I would not classify this as a "huge increase". If you average out the 2019 thru 2021 period, which you should do due to the disruptions, the average is 1713 units, which is still an increase, but not huge.

[booster]

I don't know how the 1716 calc was done but if you take the the 2021 at 3066 and the 2018 at 1306 you get an increase of 1760 units, which would be the last normal year to now. That is 440 units per year average increase and a 134% increase (3306/1706 X 100 = 234% -100% = 134% increase.


That is nearly 45% per year increase in sales over 3 years and I would call very large for any business.


I would be more concerned in figuring this kind of calculation that the 2021 is also a disrupted figure because of Covid sales which spread across all RVs. Until all those sales are possibly balanced in the next couple of years, I don't think any of the actual yearly numbers are representative of where class B sales are really heading. Better to look at the % of overall RV sales for market share of entire market, maybe, to predict the future growth.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by rockymtnb

RVIA has added one more custom Class B van conversion company to the member list - Ozark Mountain Adventure Vans, a subsidiary of Springfield Coach Group (SCG) which builds custom limousines and shuttle vans. The list of custom Class B RVIA manufacturers now includes:

• Advanced RV
• El Kapitan vans
• Modvans
• Ozark Mountain Adventure Vans
• Sportsmobile

RVIA vehicle certification is required for some RV insurance and finance contracts and thus may become a market differentiator as these small van companies proliferate.

Advanced RV has been an RVIA member since inception in 2012 I believe. My van built in 2014 has the RVIA tag. There are requirements to build a van in compliance with RVIA as well as the manufacturer. It has been a struggle to design and build a van on the 2500 Sprinter chassis mainly because of weight issues as I want. A 144" WB 2500 Sprinter has to stay under 7,400 lbs. delivered according to MB. That is why so many short Sprinters are designed sparsely and passed off as more activity vans than full featured Class B camping vans.

I've pared down my lithium batteries by two to 576ah, have gone to a newer Xantrex inverter/charger that is lighter in weight, stainless steel counter tops instead of stone, lighter beds, lighter refrigerator/freezer, smaller microwave, no awning or solar panels (by choice anyway) and lighter wall panels, etc. ARV produced a detailed list of weights of everything installed by them in an empty cargo van. BTW, the delivered weight does not include water and waste in the tanks but you still have to stay under 9,100 lbs. Interestingly, I first explored a Super Single which has a 9,900 lb. gross vehicle weight but MB said it still had to be delivered under 7,400 lbs. The empty cargo van would weigh more as a Super Single which meant ARV could not build in improvements I designed and wanted without further paring down.

[rockymtnb]

SSI has released Class B market share data for the first quarter of 2021:

Winnegabo Industries Inc. 47.5%
Thor: 21.6%
Forest River: 9.2%

Although all manufacturers had unit sale increases this quarter an interesting comparison is year-over-year growth rate, with Thor Motor Coach showing the largest share improvement:

Thor: 58.7% increase
Forest River: 22.3% increase
Winnebago: 8.1% increase

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by rockymtnb

SSI has released Class B market share data for the first quarter of 2021:

Winnegabo Industries Inc. 47.5%
Thor: 21.6%
Forest River: 9.2%

Although all manufacturers had unit sale increases this quarter an interesting comparison is year-over-year growth rate, with Thor Motor Coach showing the largest share improvement:

Thor: 58.7% increase
Forest River: 22.3% increase
Winnebago: 8.1% increase

Thank you for this data. It would be nice to know camper van ratio to other RVs in Europe. I tried but couldn't find it.

[rockymtnb]

RVIA reports that Class B production continues to set new records with 6,298 units shipped in the first half of 2021. It's notable that 2021 was not only a new six month record but also exceeded the annual production of every prior year except 2020.

Half Year Class B shipments:
2016 - 1989 units
2017 - 2765 units
2018 - 2977 units
2019 - 1799 units
2020 - 2515 units
2021 - 6298 units

Annual Class B unit shipments:
2016 - 4087 units
2017 - 5249 units
2018 - 5881 units
2019 - 4248 units
2020 - 7222 units
2021 - ? (likely to set new record, over 10,000 units?)

[mumkin]

Certainly clear to see the effect of the Roadtrek bankruptcy in Feb, 2019. It will be interesting to see the number by manufacturer for this year.

[markopolo]

Increased production is great news. Eventually the used market will have more units, more choices.

Is there anyway to verify that Class B motorhome production peaked at 23,000 units in 1972? see post -> https://www.classbforum.com/forums/f...html#post15639

[rockymtnb]

Originally Posted by markopolo

Is there anyway to verify that Class B motorhome production peaked at 23,000 units in 1972? see post -> https://www.classbforum.com/forums/f...html#post15639

That's a really interesting question. My best guess is that 23,000 units for 1972 includes shagadelic van conversions, many of which included a bed and sometimes a small wet-bar and cooler. But minus the camping and living amenities associated with full Class B vans.

RVIA historical data stretches back only to 1981 when 133,600 RVs of all types were sold, including vastly more common towables. Class B's make up less than 2% of current RV sales, a modern high point, so a 1981 estimate between 3000 to 6000 Class B units seems viable. Sales in 1972 might have been a bit higher, but 23,000 full featured Class B's feels like a stretch.

Volkswagen provides another data point with their popular VW California Camper which sold 160,000 units over its 30 year production run, about 5000 per year. However that's worldwide sales and North American only sales of its Westfalia predecessor, one of the most popular campervans here, were presumably smaller.

So ultimately my guess is that 23,000 unit figure included then-popular conversion vans. But anyone with further information please feel free to contribute!

[rockymtnb]

Some fun van examples from the '70s (including a couple of true Class B's):

Dodge Street Van - "The next best thing to Computer Dating..."

https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...-vans/?slide=8

Travco Family Wagon (available with camping upfit)

https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...vans/?slide=14

Champion Trans Van (technically probably a Class C, but who's counting...)

https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...vans/?slide=13

[Bud]

Originally Posted by rockymtnb

Some fun van examples from the '70s (including a couple of true Class B's):

Dodge Street Van - "The next best thing to Computer Dating..."

https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...-vans/?slide=8

Travco Family Wagon (available with camping upfit)

https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...vans/?slide=14

Champion Trans Van (technically probably a Class C, but who's counting...)

https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...vans/?slide=13

Hey rockymtnb,

You made your point well with this: "shagadelic van conversions"

Enjoyed, thank you.

Bud

[rockymtnb]

SSI has released US Class B market share data for the first six months of 2021:

Winnegabo Industries Inc. 43.8%
Thor: 29.9%
Forest River: 7.8%

And SSI is now reporting Canadian market ratios separately as follows:

Pleasure Way: 28.4%
Thor: 21.4%
Winnegabo: 20.0%

To put that in perspective almost 10 times as many Class B's are sold in the US than in Canada.