TRUE BLUE
After what can undoubtedly be dubbed a horror year with staff layoffs, halted production and companies propped up by JobKeeper, Australia’s RV industry is in the midst of a boom. As planned international holidays began to fall over, Australians’ travel plans pivoted to our own backyard.
Money earmarked for a luxury cruise or taking the kids to Disneyland is now being poured into new and second-hand campers, caravans and motorhomes by young families and retirees alike thanks to a surge in domestic tourism and adventure travel. And manufacturers and dealers are struggling to keep up with demand.
Victoria’s lockdown 2.0 from July to September has blown out delivery times for most new models well into 2021 as manufacturers grapple with the unpredictability wrought by 2020.
“We are on our 26th budget at Jayco since April,” says Gerry Ryan, founder and chairman of Aussie RV giant, Jayco. “By April 1 we will bring out the budget for the next 12 months and a forecast for the next year beyond that. It has been very strange. Open up, shut down, open up.
“But we were confident that the industry will have growth for the next
