Motorhome buyers flock to February show

Motorhome sales are likely to exceed last year’s record-breaking levels after more people than ever attended the Caravan, Motorhome and Camping Show, which was held at the NEC in Birmingham in February

The show’s organiser, the NCC (National Caravan Council), reported a record 94,612 people visited the event, which is over 7,000 more than last year, and dealers and manufacturers said many of those visitors were there to buy, tempted by show-only deals and warnings that prices are set to rise.

The high number of sales of new motorhomes comes on the back of a record number of sales last year, when over 12,500 new motorhomes were sold in the UK.

Sales of new models is likely to only be restricted by the fact that many manufacturers are already building at full capacity and will be unable to supply any additional models to dealers for the remainder of the 2017 season.

The Swift Group reported an increase in motorhome sales of 34% compared to the previous year’s event. This was helped by a “beat the price rise” campaign during which it held prices for the show before introducing a 5% price increase at the end of February.

Other manufacturers performing ahead of the market included Auto-Trail, Adria and Lunar. Director of Sales and Marketing for Auto-Trail, Scott Stephens, says: “Show sales have highlighted how many customers are entering into motorhoming, which is a great sign for the industry.”

Adria’s UK boss, Slavica Sterk, added: “The NEC show has continued the fantastic results for the season that Adria is having. The show has strengthened Adria’s position in the market…We gave the guarantee to customers that our prices will remain unchanged until the beginning of the new season in July.”

Dealers across the country are also reporting big demand. John Broderick, managing director of Don Amott Leisure Kingdom in Derbyshire, comments: “The market at present is very positive and buoyant. People are confident in spending their money on motorhomes and Brexit has had no impact at all on our sales. We’ve seen an increase in the number of customers new to motorhomes and many of them are buying brand new due to the shortage of secondhand units.”

He said year-to-date sales compared to 2016 are already 10% up, despite production delays, adding that demand for used motorhomes is also high, with quality used motorhomes in the under £30 category now in very short supply.

It’s a similar story at Dolphin Motorhomes, with its two outlets in the south of England. Managing Director, Josh Willis, says: “We have had a cracking start to 2017 with a 17% year-on-year increase in sales. January and February’s targets have been beaten and the sales at this year’s NEC show were double that of the same show last year.”

He reckons 80% of sales to date have been to new customers and 39% have been first-time buyers. Like other dealers, he admits: “The main challenge for this year seems to be getting hold of secondhand stock. We are finding the quality of the stock we receive from the likes of Auto-Trail, Elddis and Bailey over the past few years, but particularly at the moment, is the reason it is easy to sell.”
Independent producers are also basking in the current upward trend. At WildAx, boss Duncan Wildman, says: “Everything is motoring along well here. We are increasing production this year by about 25% after an increase of 40% during 2016, so there’s a lot on.

“We are happy to again win awards at the most prestigious of awards – the Caravan and Motorhome Club at the show where the Pulsar HT and the Solaris XL both won top of category.
“These two models are our rising stars, both with a great niche being carved out in the marketplace as they very little comparison across the UK.”

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