For RV retailers, the official 2023 RV retail sales figures are probably no surprise. In fact, they may be hearing a line from Mr. Bojangles: “I met him in a cell in New Orleans, I was down and out.” Indeed, compared to 2022, last year’s sales were decidedly down and out, to the tune of nearly 16% overall. Here’s the breakdown, according to Statistical Surveys, Inc.
There were 380,658 retail registrations of RVs in 2023. That’s a decline of 15.5%, or 69,663 units. In 2022, 450,321 new RVs were registered. The trade tracking group does note that there were 67,484 more retail sales in 2023 compared to the 313,174 wholesale shipments. Their conclusion on this? “This strongly supports the widely held notion that the industry was working through excess dealer inventory through all of last year.”
December 2023 RV sales in the U.S.—towables
- Travel Trailers – 9,840 (11,033 in December 2022; a 10.8% decrease)
- Fifth-Wheels – 3,145 (3,259; -3.5%)
- Pop-ups – 221 (263; -16.0%)
- Park Models – 131 (157; -16.6%)
December 2023 RV sales in the U.S.—motorhomes
- Class A – 451 (557; -19.0%)
- Class C – 971 (1,040; -6.6%)
- Class B – 643 (706; -8.9%)
And for the next report?
What will the statistics show a year from now? With so much drama unfolding both domestically and on the world scene, it would take a brave soul to try and make predictions that come true. But across the country, RV dealers may just be singing to the market this way:
I heard someone ask please
Mr. Bojangles
Mr. Bojangles
Mr. Bojangles
Dance!
##RVT1143b
Maybe now the prices will come down to where they ought to be instead of inflated.
Agreed. Seems like it’s been a race to the bottom for quality versus price. It will only take one of them to raise the bar and the market will hopefully self correct.
And instead of improving service to attract more traffic, I’ll bet many of the retail sales dealerships decided to cut costs and reduced or restricted service staff.
Decidedly different right now, as far as dealer behavior. First, we had the two largest RV shows in the Mpls/St Paul Metro that were FREE to attend. Usually they are about $10 per to attend.
Discounts on new appeared to be substantially more than usually seen on 2023’s and even 2024’s. Usually I walk through shows and just laugh at the paltry “show special pricing” offered. It was not uncommon to see 40%+ discounts for net pricing lower than last year’s shows.
Finally, if you have a trade, you may also be singing the blues. Dealers we talked to didn’t want them or would offer insulting trade value for auction.
I had two dealers that wanted my TT for consignment whose offer was highway robbery. They should have been insulted calling me. But there’s no honor among thieves.
Thank you, Russ and Tina! I used to prefer the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s version
(https://youtu.be/z2CYdumJRNg?feature=shared), but once I heard Jerry Jeff Walker do it, then I switched to his version (https://youtu.be/tYwaWd4BmmY?feature=shared). Safe travels! 🙂
How do these sales figures compare with pre-pandemic trends? I recall a surge during the pandemic. A longer look at the trend could show if these decreases are compensating for that surge.
A quick search of Craigslist, or FaceBook Marketplace will return countless used RVs of every type and size. The current market glut of used RVs will suppress new unit sales for the next several years. The peak years in RV unit sales coincided with the peak years of baby boomer retirements. As that demographic ages out of the hobby, sales will return to more stable, sustainable levels. The last several years will be remembered as the golden age of RV sales, just as the decade of the 2000’s was to motorcycling.