Buoyed by seven straight record-breaking months to end the year, the RV industry surpassed 500,000 units in terms of retail sales for the first time since RV retail registration data has been tracked.
Representing a 10.3% year-over-year increase, there were 515,819 retail registrations of all RVs – motorized and towable – recorded across North America in 2020, a jump of 53,163 units compared to the 462,656 units recorded in 2019, according to Statistical Surveys Inc., the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based firm that tracks retail and consumer data for the RV industry.
And, as mentioned, December was the seventh month in a row for a record number of retail registrations for that respective month. There were 26,998 units in December 2020 versus 18,805 in the same period last year, a 43.6% year-over-year jump.
United States
Thor was the market share leader for all towables in both December (38.2%) and all of 2020 (41.2%), followed by Forest River (36.9% and 39.1%, respectively) and Grand Design RV Co. (10.9%, 8.7%).
In the travel trailer segment for December, there were 16,838 units registered in 2020 versus 11,371 the same month last year, a 48% increase. For the year, the segment saw a 17.8% increase, going from 278,199 units registered in 2019 to 327,694 registrations in 2020. Forest River was the market share leader for both December (40.1%) and 2020 (41.2%), followed by Thor (37.1% and 40%, respectively) and Grand Design (8.4%, 6.7%).
There was a 35% jump in fifth-wheels in December going from 4,121 in 2019 to 5,553 units in 2020. There was a 6.1% increase for the year, with 83,753 registrations in 2020 compared to 78,908 in 2019. Thor led the segment’s market share in December (44.9%) and for 2020 (47.1%), trailed by Forest River (27.2% and 28.2%, respectively) and Grand Design (19.4%, 17.9%).
Among camping trailers, there were 335 units registered in December this year compared to 191 units in 2019, representing a 75% increase. For the year, there was a 9.9% gain with 8,276 registrations in 2020 versus 7,529 in 2019. Forest River had the top market share for both December (57%) and 2020 (71.6%), followed by Aliner (21.2% and 12.9%, respectively) and Purple Line LLC (9.6%, 4.9%).
Park model RVs was flat, going from 173 PMRV registrations in December last year to 175 units this year. There was a slight year-over-year increase (2.7%) with 2,461 registrations in 2020 and 2,396 in 2019. Skyline Champion was the segment’s market share leader for December (38.3%), trailed by Cavco Industries (16.6%) and Kropf Manufacturing (13.7%). For all of 2020, Skyline also led the market for all of 2020 (34.4%), followed by Kropf (16.5%) and Cavco (15.6%).
The Class A segment reported a 15% increase in December, going from 909 last year to 1,070 this year. However, the segment declined for the year (-9.3%) with 16,413 units registered in 2020 compared to 18,095 units in 2019. Market share leaders for December and all of 2020 were Thor (49.3% and 47.1%, respectively), followed by Forest River (15%, 16%) and REV Recreation Group (13.8%, 14.2%).
In the Class C category, there was a 33.3% increase in December, going from 1,076 in 2019 to 1,613 in 2020. For all of 2020, Class C’s saw a 4.4% gain, with 25,759 units registered in 2020 compared to 24,678 in 2019. Thor led the segment in December (59.8%) and for the year (53.3%), followed by Forest River (19.8% and 25.1%, respectively) and Winnebago Motorized (8.6%, 11.8%).
The Class B segment saw a 44.6% increase in December, with 667 units registered in the month this year compared to 369 the same period a year ago. For the year, the segment increased 42.7% year-over-year, going from 5,520 units in 2019 to 7,877 in 2020. Winnebago Motorized was the market share leader for both the month (48.1%) and the year (49.9%), trailed by Thor (17.7% and 13.9%, respectively) and Forest River (10.6%, 9.9%).
Canada
Thor was the Canadian market share leader for towables in both December (42.3%) and all of 2020 (47.1%), followed by Forest River (33.2% and 38.1%, respectively) and Grand Design RV Co. (18%, 8.9%).
In the travel trailer segment for December, there were 454 units registered in 2020 versus 309 the same month last year, a 46.9% increase. However, the segment saw a 3.6% decrease for the year, going from 33,998 registrations in 2019 to 32,789 in 2020. Thor was the market share leader for both December (41.4%) and 2020 (48.1%), followed by Forest River (36.1% and 38.5%, respectively) and Grand Design (16.1%, 7%).
There was a 23.8% decrease in fifth-wheels in December going from 130 in 2019 to 99 units this year. There was an 18.7% year-over-year drop as well, with 5,461 registrations in 2020 compared to 6,713 in 2019. Thor led the segment’s market share in December (49.5%), trailed by Grand Design (28.3%) and Forest River (17.2%). Thor also led the segment for 2020 (49.6%), but was followed by Forest River (25.1%) and Grand Design (21.8%).
Camping trailers and park model RVs in December were essentially flat, while both showed year-over-year declines. Forest River led the camping trailer segment for the year at 92.7%, while Forest River (61.3%) and Woodland Park (29%) claimed the top two spots among PMRVs for the year.
The Class A and C motorized segments were essentially flat for the month. There were 25 Class A units registered in December 2019 versus 22 units in December 2020, while in Class C’s there were 32 units registered in December 2020 versus 30 units for the same month last year.
For the year, the Class A category saw a 34.7% decrease, going from 1,057 units in 2019 to 690 units for all of this year. Thor led the category for the year at 46.7%, followed by Forest River (17%) and Newmar Corp. (14.8%).
There was a 35.9% drop in the Class C segment for the year, with 1,413 units registered in 2020 versus 2,206 units in 2019. Thor led the category for the year at 56.1%, followed by Forest River (27.3%) and Newmar Corp. (7.1%).
