Adria future in doubt

The future of Adria caravans in Australia is uncertain, with speculation that the Slovenian manufacturer is currently seeking a new distributor of its lightweight, Euro-style vans Down Under.

Queensland’s R.V. Asia-Pacific has been one of the most successful importers of European caravans in this country, recently claiming 1000 Adria caravans had been sold in Australia since it became the official Adria importer in 2006.

However, Scott Webster, the dealer principal of Victorian Adria dealer Melbourne & European RVs, told caravancampingsales.com.au that recent discussions with the Adria factory in Slovenia indicated “they are currently trying to source another (Australian) distributor”.

“They want to continue to remain in the country and they are in discussions with... a couple of major Australian manufacturers.... including one other person,” he said.

“The factory is coming over here next month with the view of establishing who’s going to be taking on the distributorship or if in fact R.V. Asia Pacific will continue with it,” he said.

“I’d certainly want to see them continue because we’ve got probably six or seven hundred owners out there that are definitely going to want to continue to see them doing things (here).”

Melbourne & European RVs, which is also a dealer for Melbourne’s New Age Caravans as well as British-built Elddis caravans, is a multiple winner of Adria Australia’s Dealer of the Year award.

Webster said he was keen to remain an Adria dealer, and even expressed interest in acquiring the distributorship himself, although admitted “my wallet’s probably not big enough”.

“The upside is it’s an easy side of my business because there’s no warranty (claims),” he said. “They’re just so bloody reliable and we just don’t have issues with them. And even second hand, when we do get them in they go out the door pretty quickly...”

Established in 1954, Adria Mobil is one of Europe’s biggest caravan and motorhome manufacturers. Six Australian-spec models are currently sold in Australia, ranging from the compact four-berth Altea 390 DS that weighs just over one tonne fully loaded, to full-size vans like the Adria 612 DP that can be towed by smaller SUVs.

R.V. Asia Pacific general manager, Chris Swann, admitted a “confidential” note had recently been sent to some Adria dealers outlining the distributor’s plans but that discussions with the Adria factory are “ongoing”.

“We are still the importers of Adria caravans... there’s nothing to tell you,” he said. “I have the factory coming out next month as well, and there are a lot of things going on behind the scenes...”

R.V. Asia, which is owned by Queensland car dealer Greg Scott and previously imported German Hymer caravans, recently announced a number of 2013 model updates, but availability of the latest Adria caravans at dealers has been limited with little current stock available in recent months.  

“One of the reasons we haven’t imported any vans (lately) is purely because of the exchange rate,” Swann said. “There are lots of things that effect the introduction of a product into a country and the problem is at the moment, two or three months ago it was very rosy. Today it is not, we need to review pricing, costing, structures, everything else, and performance of dealers.”