LOUISVILLE — The recreational vehicle industry is enjoying its sixth straight year of production growth and the talk here at the National RV Trade Show’s opening day centered on how to change to ensure the industry’s future remains bright.
“Understanding the next generation of consumers and embracing new technologies presents new challenges,” said Derald Bontrager, president of Jayco Inc. in Middlebury and chairman of the board of the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association. “But also offers new opportunities.”
New RVIA President Frank Hugelmeyer told the 1,200 RV manufacturers, suppliers, dealers and sales staffs gathered for the show’s kick-off breakfast, that things couldn’t be better for the industry.
“The state of the RV industry is strong,” Hugelmeyer said. “We have erased the debt caused by the recent recession. Sales of vehicles are at near record levels and we expect to reach 375,000 units in 2016.”
That level of shipments would approach the 2005 pre-recession record year when 384,400 RVs were shipped to dealerships. At that time the industry was more expansive, with plants located in several states. Now, after recession-driven consolidations and contractions, about 80 percent of all recreation vehicles are manufactured in Elkhart County. The industry’s growth and need for workers has driven Elkhart County’s unemployment rate down to 3.5 percent.
As the nation’s economy continues to build steam, Hugelmeyer said consumers are opting for more long-distance trips over “staycations.”
But he cautioned the audience to take note of social and communication changes that are tied together and will impact how they will market their vehicles in coming years.
“There are changes afoot,” Hugelmeyer said. “We are witnessing significant demographic shifts. Eighty percent of the U.S. market now lives in an urban environment and 50 percent worldwide.”
He also pointed out that 20 percent of the nation’s millennial generation are minorities.
He said the demographics is important because the recreation vehicle has been driven in the past by rural, white Americans.
“We are now evolving into an urban based, multi-racial future,” Hugelmeyer said. “So the very definition of what it means to recreate is changing as well as the makeup of our consumers.”
Those changes, coupled with the migration of consumers to the Internet and using mobile devices to shop for RVs, is having an impact on RV dealers, Hugelmeyer indicated.
“Whether purchasing, renting or servicing an RV,” he said, “Dealers, suppliers and manufacturers must supply a comprehensive solution at a push of a button.”
An example of how technology is driving change in industries around the world, Hugelmeyer said a Chinese manufacturer recently 3-D printed 10 houses in a day.
“Who in this room will print 10 self-driving electric vehicles in a day,” Hugelmeyer asked. “That time may be much closer than you think.”
Guest speaker and best-selling author of business books Peter Sheahan told the RV crowd what they know now and what they do now will be quickly changing based on the demographics changes and the migration of consumers to online stores.
“You have created an industry. You have created a way to recreate. You created an entire pastime... You now have to do it all over again,” Sheahan said. “...There is no question that the changes in consumers and demographics will be tectonic, no question.”