Thor announces Hymer USA division

[Davydd]

A sane price or 50% less like you wish is not going to happen here. COVID has given companies pause to not jump in blindly with new ventures without thorough analysis and some logistics. For instance Europe probably doesn't trust North Americans to carry out the mission and can't put their people in place right now. That idea might not hold water. North America is simply a different market with different standards and infrastructure for camping and travel and maybe they don't understand that. In reality the RV industry has been healthy and working on all cylinders through COVID with a few initial shutdowns.

[mumkin]

I agree... don't hold your breath waiting for the cheaper European prices to end up here. Most of us have been waiting for that for 20 years. LOL And Thor would be the last company I would expect to do so. They will lower the quality and either keep the high US prices or kick them higher.

Hymer/Roadtrek version did do a unit on the 136" wheelbase called the Carado Axion. They also did it with a pop-top.

Right now the only company using that platform is the Pleasureway Tofino. To get the smaller units you have to go to the smaller converters... like Sportsmobile, GTRV, Colorado Campers, etc.

[GeorgeRa]

Agree that change is not easy, it will take one “Apple Phone” success for other manufacturers to join in investment into design and manufacturing technology.

An example is NA market penetration by European RV heating appliances like Truma, Webasto, Eberspacher, Propex, Alde while Atwood, Suburban, and a very kludgy Rixen are standing still. Without upfront investment in engineering and manufacturing technologies NA prices of B-class camper vans will stay insane and we will continue to justify why they need to stay insane.

[CalVan]

I think GeorgeRa mentioned two key things; competition and change. Two important and inevitable elements in free market. I remember how eMachine' PC from South Korea a few years back changed the computer world in the US forever. Computer stores/companies had to change! Casio digital pianos are another example. I own a few of Casio's "high end"(dirt cheap) keyboards. They are excellent but very inexpensive. It wasn't just the price. Casio did something original and innovative. They came out with full 88 digital weighted keys, but only 24-26 LBS instead of 55 LBS or over!!! Now you can imagine how it "forced" change on other big name manufacturers. I often tell my fellow musicians and audience, "Casio is not your grand children's keyboard." Likewise, Class B is not your grandpa's RV, either. I saw so many Class B vans last week when we went to to the coast. A few weeks before, I would have thought that they were all work vans. I understand that the Wuhan virus has increased demand for Class B vans even more, and naturally it increases the price as well. It’s really a seller’s market in the US now, it seems to me. Hymer Europe sells in about 35 countries including Japan, Russia, and Korea, and I wonder why not in NA? I saw a few Youtube videos yesterday and someone commented how the Sequence or Tallero by Thor comes with a lithium pack and other great features, and still it is 20 K cheaper than the other model he was comparing with. He added, “Thor is going to force prices down for Class B’s. And also, everyone will copy this K floor-plan.” I read that you can buy a 2011 Sequence for under 80K. That’s not too bad and I can live with that price, but I’m looking for a 136 WB van.

[rockymtnb]

No surprise but Thor CEO Bob Martin and Erwin Hymer CEO Martin Brandt have both confirmed that Thor-Hymer joint efforts including Hymer USA and Airstream Caravans continue to be postponed.

• THOR Industries CEO Bob Martin:
  The entire capacity of our companies was taken up by handling lockdown and maintaining supply chains, meaning larger joint projects were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, travel between the USA and Germany has been all but impossible since March 2020.

• Erwin Hymer CEO Martin Brandt:
  Marketing of the legendary Airstream caravan brand in Europe had to be put on hold because of the pandemic. To implement complex projects in working groups or workshops, people need to be able to get together in person and overcome time differences. That won’t be possible until we can travel again.

The Hymer USA webpage has been removed for now and Thor's Bristol Indiana plant designated for Hymer USA production has been repurposed for TMC Class B production including the Tellaro, Sequence, and forthcoming Rize, Scope, Tranquility and Sanctuary models.

Given these delays it seems unlikely we'll see Hymer USA production models anytime before 2023 at the earliest.

[mumkin]

Can't think of two companies more deserving of the problems...

[Joe1]

Major setback with production reassigned to Thor models. Wonder if the vision for European models in US is still alive. It would take a major transfer of engineering and manufacturing. Not confident the personal or motivation is available in the US to accomplish this.

Hymer US would be the best answer to the EKKO, to bring the orginal German design to the US instead of Thor rushing a copycat model into production like their other B class models. The quality and compact design from Hymer could disrupt the market, which may have other Thor divisions doing everything to oppose this. It could be besides travel restrictions, the EV movement is disrupting the Hymer plan on both sides of the pond.