Last Avan Knaus vans going cheap

Another European caravan brand is exiting the market, with local Avan dealers running out remaining stock of discontinued 'Knaus by Avan' caravans.

While the German-built Knaus motorhomes will still be offered by Avan dealers, the Pakenham, Victoria manufacturer of Avan and Golf recreational vehicles has pulled the pin after a concerted attempt at selling the premium German Knaus vans down under.

While sad news for fans of lightweight composite caravans, it's also a chance to grab a bargain, with three vans currently for sale at the Melbourne Avan Supercentre, including a fresh off the factory floor, 2019-model, 19ft, 1235kg Tare weight Knaus Sport 460XB reduced to $49,990 (towaway).

The Avan Supercentre also has two larger 2017-models -- a Knaus StarClass 560 four-berth van and a similar StarClass 565 -- both boasting a Tare weight of 1550kg and priced at $59,990 (for a claimed saving of $10,000).

The Melbourne Supercentre sold off the last of the slow-selling Knaus Eurostar uber-luxury caravans about a year ago, after it was officially launched at the Melbourne Supershow in 2015 with a pricetag approaching six figures.

In its push to establish the German Knaus caravans as a premium niche brand in Australia, Avan introduced a more affordable range of British-spec Knaus StarClass caravans to the Australian market in 2017.

Like the latest UK Bailey models, the Knaus Eurostar vans sold here were assembled locally on a specially designed, Australian made chassis, while the UK-built StarClass vans were 'Australian-ised' with various modifications including additional fresh water capacity and the fitting of local appliances.

While sales of European-built motorhomes remain relatively strong, the demand by Australian travellers for British and European caravans has softened in recent years.

Some of this has been due to the advances in décor and features by Australian caravan manufacturers, while the huge increase in popularity of crew cab utes as tow vehicles has also taken some of the heat out of the lightweight advantage of the imports.

With a limited number of Bailey, Swift and Caravelair caravans available down under, the Apollo-distributed Adria range is now the biggest and broadest in Australia when it comes to lightweight imported, fixed roof caravans.