A New Age for Jayco

Fast-growing Melbourne manufacturer aims to steal more market share from Jayco with release of new camper trailer

Update, September 8: Since this article was published, Jayco has advised that it remains the largest manufacturer of full-height caravans in the country, and questions the claims made by New Age. For more click here.

For decades Jayco has been the clear sales leader in the Australian RV manufacturing industry, with upwards of 10,000 annual production or up to 50 per cent of the overall market.

But the Dandenong, Victoria-based manufacturer is facing perhaps its first serious threat from a cross-town rival that’s only been in business for seven years.

A pioneer of the apartment-style interior look now found in most Australian vans, New Age Caravans is growing faster than your front lawn in spring, with production doubling from 20 to 40 vans a week over the past 18 months, according to CEO Gabby Montagnese (pictured).

Over the same period the Epping, Victoria-based manufacturer has doubled its workforce to 200 employees, boosted by a $1million government grant that has allowed it to not only modernize manufacturing processes but focus more on research and development and quality control.

With a production capacity of 50 vans a week, New Age expects to soon outgrow the 7000sq.m factory it moved into in mid-2013. Following the recent sale of its factory-owned Melbourne dealership to Preston Motors, the plan is build more factory space on nearby land allowing production to increase to 3000 a year.

Already selling more full-height caravans than Jayco, New Age is set to steal further market share with the introduction of a new entry-level model that will be a direct rival to Jayco’s big-selling camper range.

Like Jayco, New Age has recently moved to a single-franchise dealer network, with most of its 14 dealers in six states now only selling New Age models. Next month a New Age dealership will also open in New Zealand, joining a select group of Australian manufacturers that have officially crossed the ditch including Jayco and more recently Bailey.

New Age is already tapping into the growing family and week-end market, with its new ‘expander’ models and full-height bunk vans accounting for as much as 30 per cent of overall sales.

The new camper trailer was scheduled for release mid-year but has been pushed back to allow for further testing and design tweaks.

While still under wraps, Montagnese hinted the new camper will be firmly in the sub-$30,000 entry-level category, not dissimilar to Jayco’s wind-up offerings but with a distinctly New Age look and feel. Both on- and off-road versions will be available, as well as family models.

However, she said they won’t compete directly on price with Jayco, which builds as many as 4000 campers a year with prices starting under $20,000.

“For us we’re never going to build a product and copy what Jayco does, because they’re known for (camper trailers) and they do it well. We’ll always offer a New Age spin on what we deliver… ours will be a little bit eye catching from the exterior as well, “ she said.

Montagnese ruled out the possibility of a New Age motorhome in the near future, with the focus to remain on trailerable RVs.

“We revolutionised the industry in the way the vans were built, with the modern, contemporary design, and we need to do it again in a whole host of other areas,” she said.

“Whether it be removing some timber, or looking at safety, there’s a whole lot of improvement work we can do… And so our focus will be on all those little small wins we can offer customers and we know customers are asking for.”

The company now has 18 staff dedicated to quality control, and its own in-house training centre that runs TAFE programs in lean manufacturing as well as literacy courses through the Kangan Institute.

“We spend a lot of money on training, and in the office run various courses and management programs for managers,” she said.

Just two years old, the New Age Owners Club is now one of the biggest single-brand caravan clubs in the country with 500 members that gather regularly at planned events around the country.

New Age also recently took on its first wheelchair-friendly van for a customer suffering from a terminal illness, with wider entry door and manual lift operation to provide easier access.

A New Age for Jayco

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