Xantrex originally launched its Freedom 458 inverter charger in 1992. Today, the supplier sells its 1997 version that has not been changed since and is the highest selling inverter charger in the RV aftermarket.
Though Xantrex was founded in 1983 as a power supply company, acquisition of Heart Interface, Statpower Technologies and Trace Engineering in the ‘90s and 2000s allowed the company to expand its inverter offerings, which the company is known for today.
Around 2017, Xantrex started offering solar panels and lithium batteries, rounding out products for energy production, storage and conversion. Mitul Chandrani, the company’s director of marketing, said he is hoping to see power system electrification in the future.
“With advancement in lithium and solar, manufacturers are downsizing generators in RVs,” Chandrani said. Since 2018, Coachmen, for example, has offered consumers the option to buy a unit without a generator. The manufacturer also offers Xantrex’s Freedom eGEN, a lithium iron powered technology that allows an RV to run without a generator. Instead, an RV is powered by solar, lithium batteries, an inverter and a secondary alternator to charge batteries.
Mission Critical Electronics (MCE), headquartered in Huntington Beach, California, acquired Xantrex in 2018. The company continues supplying products to RV, marine, bus and specialty vehicle markets.
