Time to Roam Magazine Issue 11 - October/November 2014 | Page 10

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upfront industry news

GET SET FOR A CARAVAN INVASION
Moves by America’s biggest RV manufacturer
to enter the Australian market signals a
new wave of competition from imports

The

BY ROD BRUEM

Red Cedar - Red Gold Trilogy

True stories and bushmen’s tales from the last days of cedar-getting

Red Cedar –
Red Gold

Burying the Ghosts
of the Past

The hunt for the last
of the fabulous cedars
on the coast.

‘…an extraordinary
tribute to red
cedar…’

The battle for the last of the
‘red gold’ threatens the peace
of the timber town.

All Things Return
to the Beginning

The final chapter brings out
the best in one man and the
worst in another.

e Frank Hardy, Darcy Niland
‘…Ridgway can be put alongsid
erate mood
rs who catch the not quite desp
and those othe
and
J.S Ryan, University of New Engl
of the 1930s…’ – Dr

tage paid to anywhere in Australia.
Purchase the trilogy for $75.00 pos

Send cheque or money order to
PO Box 5571, Port Macquarie, NSW, 2444 or visit www.ianridgway.com.au
for PayPal or direct deposit details, book reviews, reader feedback and author profile.
10

timetoroam.com.au

TTR11-QPV-redcedar-v1.indd 1

Caravan and RV buyers could
make big savings and gain
access to better quality product
as overseas manufacturers
increasingly focus on Australia.
US motorhome giant Winnebago’s
move to “re-launch” into the local
market has sent shockwaves
through the local industry with
some seeing it as just the start of
a period of renewed competition.
The combined Australian and
New Zealand market is regarded
as the world’s third biggest for RV
and camping goods after North
America and Europe. Its somewhat
smaller status is more than made
up for by a climate more suited to
year-round outdoor recreation and
consistent economic growth.
US motorhome giant Winnebago
announced in July it had signed
a new exclusive Australian
partnership agreement with
Brisbane-based Apollo, with plans
to build motorhomes in Brisbane
and import caravans from the US.
Industry figures see it as just the
start of a wave of new competition
hitting our shores from overseas
manufacturers, with the real
threat expected to come from
China over the next few years.
“There are Chinese-made

8/09/14 10:17 AM

Luke Trouchet
CEO, Apollo

components in nearly every RV
today, but we can expect to see
fully-made caravans as well as
camper trailers being imported
within the next three years,
particularly if the Australian dollar
remains strong,” one industry
insider, who declined to be
named, told Time to Roam.
Apollo’s plans to start importing
Winnebago caravans remain on
track with CEO Luke Trouchet
travelling to the US to oversee
the design and finish of the first
model destined for downunder.
The company plans to import
Winnebago’s “Minnie”, which
has been its fastest selling new
product in the US. Company
sources say they will finally go
on sale here in November.