Ford Motorhome Chassis Sales Growth Outpacing Industry
Thor Four Winds Class C Motorhomes are built on Ford E-Series or Transit cutaway chassis
So here’s an automotive segment you don’t hear stories about every day: motorhomes! Turns out that the motorhome business is booming, and Ford is reaping the benefits with sales of Ford motorhome chassis beating industry expectations.
Through May, sales of Class A motorhomes were up 12 percent over sales through the first five months of 2013, and Class C sales were up 14 percent in the same period of time. Ford motorhome chassis sales in particular managed to outpace this impressive statistic with sales of Class A stripped chassis up 17 percent and Class C chassis up 16 percent.
“Motorhome sales are cyclical, and correlate with improving economic performance,” said Erich Merkle, Ford sales analyst. “Like boats, homes and luxury cars, motorhomes – especially Class A – are big-ticket items, so when we see a continued upward trend in sales, it means people have far greater confidence to make a large, discretionary purchase.”
The Winnebago Vista is built upon a stripped Ford motorhome chassis
Ford dominates the motorhome chassis market in a manner similar to their domination of the pickup truck segment: through May, Ford controls a 63 percent market share for Class A chassis and a 72 percent market share for Class C chassis.
As such, Ford has increased production of its F-53 and F-459 stripped chassis for Class A motorhomes and commercial vehicles by 33 percent in order to keep up with demand. According to Merkle, production could continue to increase as the economy continues to rebound.
“Demographic drivers of this overall growth in the RV market include retiring baby boomers with more time for travel and leisure,” Merkle said.
The News Wheel is a digital auto magazine providing readers with a fresh perspective on the latest car news. We’re located in the heart of America (Dayton, Ohio) and our goal is to deliver an entertaining and informative perspective on what’s trending in the automotive world. See more articles from The News Wheel.