Class B Market Share, Sales and Shipments

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Fastpaddler1

Yes. I think so. PW and GWV build top quality rigs but prices are brutal here. Same with LTV too if not more so with their slide-out models. I can buy a 2014 Thor Chateau Citation 24SR with 2 slide outs(1 at rear for queen bed) for $109,000 Canadian. At 24ft it is too big for me. But, You wont beat that price here. Not as good quality but good enough. Has MB Sprinter chassis too. That is why the advent of the Ford Transit lwb with good rv conversions will really bring prices down somewhat and provide needed competition. To replace my 06 PW Plateau TS with a 2014 would cost me 125,000 more or less. I'm gonna wait and see what comes on the market.
Al

Ever considered buying something south of the border, and repatriating it? Save mucho dinero on price and it's not difficult to do. Your Chateau Citation example can be had in the USA for around $25,000 less than here in Canuckistan.

[markopolo]

February 2014 Class B Sales stats have been posted on RV Business: http://www.rvbusiness.com/2014/04/ssi-c ... -february/

Sales are up 27.5% through the first two months of the year.

Year-over-year Class B motorhome sales rose 32.7% in February and 27.5% for the two months, according to the latest report from Statistical Surveys Inc.

Here's how things are looking for 2014:

January 2014
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. 37.6% market share.
Thor Industries Inc. 32% market share.
Winnebago Industries Inc. 16% market share.
Pleasure-Way Industries Ltd. 9.6% market share.

February 2014
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. 39.4% market share.
Thor Industries Inc. 25.8% market share.
Winnebago Industries Inc. 17% market share.
Pleasure-Way Industries Ltd. 11.7% market share.

Roadtrek increased their lead while their closest competitor lost market share. Only 5.6% separated the #1 and #2 spots in January. In February, #1 Roadtrek increased their lead to 13.6% over #2 Thor.

[markopolo]

March 2014 Class B Shipment stats have been published on RVIA's site http://www.rvia.org

The great news continues as there was a 34.1% INCREASE in shipments compared to last March.



2014 shipments are up 45.6% for the first three months of the year. That's an additional 232 units built and shipped to dealers.

[markopolo]

March 2014 Class B Sales stats have been posted on RV Business: http://www.rvbusiness.com/2014/05/ssi-c ... up-18-ytd/

Sales are up 18.4% through the first three months of the year.

Year-over-year Class B motorhome sales were flat in March, up 0.6%, but showed an 18.4% gain for the first three months, according to the latest report from Statistical Surveys Inc.

Here's the breakdown:

February 2014
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. 39.4% market share.
Thor Industries Inc. 25.8% market share.
Winnebago Industries Inc. 17% market share.
Pleasure-Way Industries Ltd. 11.7% market share.

March 2014
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. 40.5% market share.
Thor Industries Inc. 24% market share.
Winnebago Industries Inc. 18.3% market share.

Roadtrek continues to pull away from the competition. I suspect Pleasure-Way's numbers didn't make it in time for publication.
Month after month (decades actually) Roadtrek is out in front. They'll probably use them as an example case study in business school if they aren't doing so already!

This is still looking like a very good year for Class B's. We may see Winnebago challenge for the number 2 spot this year as they keep chipping away at the gap that separates them from number 2 Thor. Also, remember that Pleasure-Way has moved into the Class C market so those small Class C sales don't count toward Class B sales statistics.

[booster]

It sure would be interesting to see how the sales break down by model for the various manufacturers, especially Roadtrek. I think those of us the are more into longer term trips and off grid stuff may be underestimating the desirability of the newer models. We find the newer Roadtreks to be a step backwards in design and utility, especially in the Chevies, from some of the older model Chevies. The CS Sprinter is the first one that we have seen from Roadtrek that we thought was an improvement over previous model Sprinters.

[bobojay]

I still say the Thor numbers are skewed because they are including their so called B+'s in their totals for B sales. The reason being, we've been on 3 long trips so far this year, 2 of which were to class B rallies. Almost 6k miles. In all those miles, we saw exactly 1 Interstate Sprinter B.
What with Winnebago now selling the Travato and the ERA, with more models of each to come, and Roadtrek grabbing the newbies and the folks that just don't know there's anything else out there, I don't see the numbers there for Thor at all.

[markopolo]

April 2014 Class B Shipment stats have been published on RVIA's site http://www.rvia.org

27.2% increase in shipments compared to last April.



2014 shipments are up 40.8% for the first four months of the year.

[markopolo]

April 2014 Class B Sales stats have been posted on RV Business: http://www.rvbusiness.com/2014/06/ssi-c ... -in-april/

Sales are up 26.1% through the first four months of the year.

Year-over-year Class B motorhome sales soared 41.4% in April and 26.1% for the first four months, according to the latest report from Statistical Surveys Inc.

Here's the breakdown:

March 2014
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. 40.5% market share.
Thor Industries Inc. 24% market share.
Winnebago Industries Inc. 18.3% market share.

April 2014
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. 37.5% market share.
Thor Industries Inc. 24.6% market share.
Winnebago Industries Inc. 20.4% market share.

It's a very good year so far for Class B's. Winnebago continues to make progress. Roadtrek is the clear leader in the sales category.

[markopolo]

May 2014 Class B Shipment stats have been published on RVIA's site http://www.rvia.org

90% increase in shipments compared to last May!



2014 shipments are up 51.9% for the first five months of the year.

[markopolo]

May 2014 Class B Sales stats have been posted on RV Business: http://www.rvbusiness.com/2014/07/ssi-b ... -19-7-ytd/

Sales are up 19.7% through the first five months of the year.

Year-over-year Class B motorhome sales edged down 5.4% in May, but showed 19.7% growth for the first five months, according to the latest report from Statistical Surveys Inc.

Here's the breakdown:

March 2014
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. 40.5% market share.
Thor Industries Inc. 24% market share.
Winnebago Industries Inc. 18.3% market share.

April 2014
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. 37.5% market share.
Thor Industries Inc. 24.6% market share.
Winnebago Industries Inc. 20.4% market share.

May 2014
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. 37.1% market share.
Thor Industries Inc. 23.6% market share.
Winnebago Industries Inc. 21.8% market share.

It's still a very good year so far for Class B's. Roadtrek easily holds onto the number one position. Winnebago is getting closer to Thor, only 1.8% difference now.

[markopolo]

June 2014 Class B Shipment stats have been published on RVIA's site http://www.rvia.org

2014 continues to be a great year for Class B RV's.



2014 shipments are up 43.8% for the first half of the year.

[markopolo]

June 2014 Class B Sales stats have been posted on RV Business: http://www.rvbusiness.com/2014/08/ssi-c ... p-of-42-3/

Sales are up 24.1% through the first six months of this year.

Class B motorhomes jumped 42.3% in June retail registrations compared to June 2013, according to the latest report from Statistical Surveys Inc. (SSI). For the first six months of 2014, the camper vans posted a 24.1% gain over the same period in 2013.

Here's the breakdown:

April 2014
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. 37.5% market share.
Thor Industries Inc. 24.6% market share.
Winnebago Industries Inc. 20.4% market share.

May 2014
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. 37.1% market share.
Thor Industries Inc. 23.6% market share.
Winnebago Industries Inc. 21.8% market share.

June 2014
Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc. 31.4% market share.
Winnebago Industries Inc. 26.8% market share.
Thor Industries Inc. 25.1% market share.

Great year so far for Class B's. Roadtrek continues to hold the number one position. The big news is Winnebago. Last month they were only 1.8% behind second place Thor. This month they passed Thor and have climbed to be only 4.6% behind long time first place holder Roadtrek according to the report on RV Business.

[booster]

Very interesting information there.

It starts to make me wonder if the race to the most expensive/luxurious in class b's of the last few years is starting to come to an end. The tide definitely seems to be turning in favor of the more moderately priced and featured units.

If that is the case, the increase in sales could be buyers who were priced out of the market recently, but now can get in.

I wonder if it will show up as a moderating of used B prices down the road, too.

[Davydd]

Those figures are strange and always have been to say the least, especially Thor. Still taken at comparative face value at however they are arriving at them, it appears it is Winnebago that is taking a bite out of Roadtrek sales. Thor has stayed pretty much the same. If so, maybe it is the Promaster eating Chevy's lunch.

[obgraham]

I can't draw the same conclusion without seeing the actual number of delivered vans for each builder. Obviously Winnie will increase their percentage, because they have introduced models they didn't have before. If RT and its clones maintains or just slightly increases their production, as seems to be suggested by them, their percentage will fall as others produce more.

I agree that addressing a more moderate priced market is likely a good business plan for Winnie and others. That segment has been underserved in B's.

Finally, a raw Sprinter van, in the 3500 model, approaches $50k. That's a healthy chunk before you even add a black tank!

[Davydd]

My ordered raw Sprinter cargo van build exceeds $50,000 by a bit according to their build website and that doesn't include the VB Air Suspension which is M-B approved but still installed after market. They are not cheap. Then the goodies...

[bobojay]

Roadtrek has just put a non-publicized $3k cash rebate directly from corporate to retail customer after the done deal on all their units thru 8-31.
You get it if you are a member of the "Roadtreking" Facebook group before you make your retail deal, and notify a certain person up at the factory.

Jim Hamill the President of RT recently stated on that group that they, RT, were going to sell upwards of 1k class B's in 2014

[obgraham]

I just deposited my check from the last unofficial RT rebate. On that issue, he is a man of his word.

[markopolo]

1,595 Class B's were shipped in the first 6 months of this year according to RVIA stats.

Roadtrek had 35.9% of sales through the first 6 months of this year according to the SSI reports on RV Business.

The precise relationship of those two stats is unknown but probably give us a good enough idea what is going on. They would indicate that Roadtrek is on track to sell 1,000 units or even more.

It's a great year for B manufacturers so far. Shipments are up 43.8% for the first 6 months of this year viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2498&start=165#p20962 and sales are up 24.1%. That could indicate that there is some excess inventory on the dealer lots so rebates should help clear that. If there is excess inventory out there then it would be a good time to make a deal.

[markopolo]

I was just reading through this topic from the Feb 2013 first post viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2498

Speculation was that:

Roadtrek has the capability to produce more vans as the market picks up.
The Ford Transit and Ram ProMaster shake things up from 2014 onwards.
Winnebago could ramp up Class B production and start to churn out a basic campervan.
I hoped for a new basic campervan that could be retailed for $65,000.
There could be downward price pressure on all but the luxury models.
We expected the Chevy platform to begin to be phased out of Class B production.

We've pretty much seen the first 4 play-out.
We haven't seen much downward pressure on prices (except for the Travato).
Chevy based Class B's continue to be produced.

What do you see going forward?
The wild card is the new Ford Transit. Anyone think that there will be a Ford Transit based Class B making a debut at the Hershey Show or is it too soon?

Is there a market for new Chevy based B's after 2015?

I think we'll see more defined lines between basic, mid-range and luxury models. It would be nice to see a few basic Transit based B's as well as mid-range units. Sprinters will continue to be the upper mid-range and luxury models. We should see a few more ProMaster based B's as other companies see Winnebago's success.