The motorhome industry - what happens behind the scenes?

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What is happening in the motorhome industry? Shortly before the Caravan Stockholm 2018 fair, it became apparent on social media that something strange was going on. A motorhome company claimed they were not allowed to participate in the fair and there was talk of cartelisation and blackmail. Then the lid was put on it. What is going on behind the scenes and how does it affect us as motorhome owners and customers? We will dig deeper into this and follow up with a new article next Sunday.

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Conflicts in the motorhome industry

It seems that there are obviously conflicts in the motorhome industry. We want to be clear that we are not taking anyone's side in this. The reason we want to write about it is because we believe that what happens behind the scenes can affect us motorhome owners. We are currently reporting what we have seen and read in the media.

Several did not attend Caravan Stockholm

We were very pleased with Caravan Stockholm, but an interesting detail (which does not necessarily have to be conflict-related, but may have to do with priorities) was that several motorhome companies, and thus several motorhome brands, did not participate in the fair this year. For example, Kabe and Adria were missing. Forsbergs Fritidscenter also chose to display their motorhomes at their own annual Forsbergs fair in Sollentuna, on the same date as the Caravan Stockholm fair.

Why didn't svea Husbilar participate?

The company Svea Motorhomes, a motorhome and caravan broker, was scheduled to attend the Caravan Stockholm 2018 trade fair. They were not going to show any motorhomes. Together with the fair, they planned an outdoor area called "Vintergatan", where visitors to the fair could see motorhomes from Nordic, take photos on the red carpet, talk about motorhomes and more. But that was not the case. Shortly before the fair opened, both the programme item and Svea Husbilar's participation were cancelled.

"Scandal"

We have not seen any official explanation as to why Svea Husbilar did not participate in the fair, but if the company itself is to be believed according to their video on Youtube (update: now removed), they were simply denied participation. However, we want to emphasise that this is one side's view, and that there may be other sides of the coin.

What has been said in the media?

Discussions have been heated on Facebook and many people have been upset, but it has been difficult to get any answers. In one of the larger motorhome groups, the administrators quickly closed the thread so that it was no longer possible to comment. They wrote that they would inform the company concerned and then get back to you. You can see the email sent to the fair, and then the thread is silent.

One of the few motorhome magazines to report on the incident is Husbil & Husvagn, which called it "Sad start to Caravan Stockholm". They refer in the short article to Svea Husbilar's criticism, and write that the fair does not want to comment but focuses on making a good fair for the visitors.

what is happening in the motorhome industry?

We don't know what's going on in the motorhome industry, but it's not surprising that events like these make motorhome owners' heads spin. If it is the case that there is cartelisation, blackmail and pressure on who can and cannot be seen, then there is a risk that this will affect free competition and the pricing of motorhomes.

And that affects us as consumers. This topic should be interesting for motorhome magazines to write about, but can they do so if they are funded by advertising from the big motorhome companies?

How do you think?

We always write our honest opinion, and we'd love to hear what you think too. We won't close any comment fields! Of course, we do not accept personal attacks or other inappropriate content, but otherwise you are free to comment! (Please note, however, that your comment may need to be approved before it becomes visible).

We now plan to follow this up by digging a little deeper during the week. We will reach out to various players in the industry to see if they have any comments, and will return with a new article next Sunday. If you have any information or comments, you are also welcome to email us at kontakt@freedomtravel.se.

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