Dealers

Dealers maybe are feeling the pinch and a few have closed as posted on here.

One thing of interest is that we took our caravan in for its service yesterday at the dealership where we bought it, now we were not going use them as it's now out of warranty (especially water ingress) and last year they charged £220 and the mobile engineer based at our storage charges £170 and no towing to the dealership. But we noticed when buying supplies earlier this year that they have put their service price down to £99 so we booked it in there, I did ask why the had halved their price and they said to get more business which they claim had done so. In fact we had to wait 2 months for a free date.

However they did have a lot of new caravans and MHs on sale, some 'reduced' by a few thousand and there were three caravans with a sold label on (they were priced about £25,000 with reductions) and one in the service bay getting its PDI I assume, and one MH at £67,000 (down from £73,000) sold too. 

Not sure what all that means but just thought I'd post it.

Tyneside Leisure world based at Birtley, Tyne and Wear.

A lot of commentators are suggesting that things are difficult for a lot of dealers. My own, White Arches, went into administration earlier in the year and were fortunately taken over by the Spinney Motor Group. I understand that the same group purchased one of the Broad Lane branches also. Trouble is there seems to be a glut of caravans for sale after the peak of Covid sales and there are a lot of previous years new caravans which have not sold. Even motorhomes, which up to now have escaped the worst of the turn down are now being offered at reduced price which was unheard of even a year ago. Some are blaming the cost of living crisis but I do wonder if someone has the money to buy a new caravan or motorhome they perhaps don't suffer as much as they are often using pension pots. It could be that the hobby is not as appealing to younger families, especially if not home owners. Us older folk are falling by the wayside due to age related health conditions, perhaps a perfect storm?

David

David,

The quality small scale dealer I bought from end of March and took delivery on 03/05/24 still has for sale the one used caravan on his books advertised early April. He told me on the drive from the station when I collected that ordinarily that make of van would have been gone within the week and that the market generally was very slow (with some dealers ringing their own advertised number to check it was working as they were getting no calls!) I have since tracked his stock out of interest. He has bought in no new stock. He is now down to the one caravan mentioned and one van having sold maybe half a dozen since I collected to diminish his stock. 

I think caravans are affected by the move to EVs with people still unsure on what their future requirements are. Motorhomes have yet to feel the impact of a move to EVs (But it is coming somewhere down the line.) We all rely heavily on diesels.

My guess is that the market in Europe for MoHos is still healthy. It is our poverty as a nation that is impacting. That is highlighted by a change in government with the watch word being that the government piggybank is empty.

Moho manufacture is a cottage industry which has a lot in common with the pre 1960s motor car industry. For the market to recover buoyancy economies of scale and rationalisation are inevitable so as to reduce the price new. (The growth of the market in campervans in recent years is a move in that direction.)

I foresee a buyers' market for MoHos throughout 2025 with caravans sales remaining severely compromised and a number of dealers going to the wall.

As for me I would love a stretched crosswise double birth over garage van of circa 6.2 metres length with a 9 speed automatic  but, barring a lottery win, that  it will not happen and  I will stick with my 5 gear, 6 metre Hobby T500.

Chris 

MoHoSinger, You are right. Buying a caravan and hauling it around is an idea from the past and not one for the future. I even think that buying a motorhome might prove to have been a short lived craze that is already dwindling. There are so many other holiday options these days without a high level of initial capital expenditure.  As the man said, Change is with us now.

Yes there are other holiday options, but I don’t want them, hence I caravan. The fall off in sales has nothing to do with EV’s. A fall off in sales does not equate to a fall in use. Sales of EV’s have stalled with all car manufacturers rowing back on EV production. Ford are just the latest of many to announce their EV roll out is being rethought to match actual demand and admitted indirectly they have probably stopped ICE model production too soon. 

Yes that’s fine. We enjoyed it too.

But it doesn’t alter the fact that caravan touring is a  declining, diminishing hobby. Buying, storing, insuring, maintaining and servicing a caravan is beyond many pockets, as is the big car to tow it.  And Motorhome purchase is wildly out of range for most.

It’s ending. The next generation is already doing other things.

I saw in MMM that both Bailey and Swift had made reasonable profits for the last year but the Erwin Hymer Group (Elddis) made a loss for the second year running. I am not sure where Bailey stand in the rankings of manufactured units but they are reported as having made 1100 motorhomes and 4000 caravans in that period. Its possible that the motorhome figure is lower than expected as all motorhome manufacturers have suffered from a shortage of base units.

David

We are currently at the Norfolk Motorhome and Campervan show and if you were here I think you may just change your view. The showground is full of LV's of all shapes and sizes. The dealers are having boom period, one and a half days into the show and sold stickers are on a good 30% of MH's and campervans already. The majority of buyers seem to be on the younger side. The accessory sellers are also having a good time, I brought a windbreak and the seller sold out yesterday and had to restock overnight. No sign of an economic crisis here.

The relationship between LV dealers and retailers is difficult and predicated on a constant or rising market. As an example, franchised dealers have to gamble on how many units they want (and will pay for) over the coming season. In addition, some brands will stipulate that the dealer must take a particular range of models (whether these can be sold easily or not) to maintain the relationship. As a result, some dealers still have 2023 units in stock, have slow sales on 2024 units and already committed to 2025 units for which they will have finance before they hit the forecourts. Personally, I don't buy the argument that caravanning/motorhoming is gradually fading out. The same reasons many people bought them for remain. The alternatives to fly abroad or go on a cruise remain and indeed, many members have a mix of holiday types already. EVs have been having a tough time recently and are excellent for some transport needs but not others. The automotive giants are focusing on other fuel/powertrain options and some have openly stated that they are returning to ICE units. The basic underlying principles and challenges for the LV market are ones that we have seen decades ago, albeit now coloured with climate change initiatives and COVID hangovers pushing the market. Yes there will be dealers going to the wall, yes there will hard decisions for individuals to make on how they spend their discretionary income, but ultimately there will be a re-balance and we will get back to something like normal. Unfortunately, we have also had to live with some poorly thought out energy policies, driven more by politics and virtue signalling than good engineering and scientific principles.  

Quite a turnaround from mid and early post COVID when most dealer stock was in single figures and shall I say a certain amount of profiteering occurred by manufacturers bloating prices and then retaining them as material and other costs have dropped. For example I have seen at my local dealer that a caravan retailing at say £23K pre covid rose to close to £30K and are now being discounted by the retailer by £5-6K as the market is now flooded with new stock. Predictably it is supply and demand but those who splashed the cash back then must be a little peeved, I am just surprised that some retailers didn't see it coming.