RV manufacturing is continuing in Australia
despite the COVID 19 crisis that has brought
Australian life to a halt.
Caravan Industry Association of Victoria CEO
Rob Lucas told GoRV that many
manufacturers had shut down throughout
April but were now reopening where possible.
A range of manufacturers, he said, had full
order books, making it financially feasible for
them to stay open.
“Many manufacturers had to take an
extended break, but we have members who
had planned to come back in late April, with
others coming back in May – it’s a bit of a
mixed bag,” he said.
“A few have very strong order books who can
keep ticking over, perhaps by scaling back to
three or four days (of work) a week.
“At the moment there is a nervousness about
what is going on, but there are vans still being
sold and made. Many are just getting by on
previous orders; some are taking new orders
but not a lot of them.”
Mr Lucas said that he was unaware of the
COVID 19 crisis shutting any Victorian
manufacturers permanently; however, he said
there was “still a bit of pain to come”, with
May and June predicted to be particularly
difficult for the industry.
A bright spot, he said, was seeing various
businesses adapt, with some dealerships
creating RV handover videos for customers so
as to better comply with social distancing
requirements, on the understanding that an
in-person handover would occur when
conditions allowed.
Many RV repairers and service business,
meanwhile, are offering to pick up up the RV
and return it upon completion of the work.
“It’s actually created some new ways to
work,” Mr Lucas said. “In adversity,
innovation flourishes.”