Lippert discussed its first-quarter financial reporting Tuesday, with President and CEO Jason Lippert singling out innovative products the company released in the past year.
No product has affected Lippert’s bottom line more than the company’s anti-lock brake system (ABS), Jason Lippert said. He said the supplier reached a 70,000-RV run rate with anti-lock brakes, representing 20% of the market.
“We have never had more of a robust launch on innovation than we have had in the last couple quarters,” Jason Lippert said. “We believe (ABS) has been one of the most well-received and best tech product introductions in Lippert’s 30-year history.”
ABS added $300 to $400 to each axle Lippert builds, Jason Lippert said, and he estimated ABS systems are now on 100,000 RV axles.
“We have been talking for a couple decades now about just a continually rising target on content because of all the product introductions and refreshes on existing product that happen continually,” Jason Lippert said. “Based on the feedback that we have received, we have found that consumers are very interested in more products like our ABS brake technology that have a laser focus on safety.”
Lippert executives discussed their view of 2023 wholesale and retail RV totals. Lippert expects wholesale shipments to finish between 310,000-330,000 for the year with retail sales between 340,000 and 360,000.
“That is based on a significant level of dealer touches,” Jason Lippert said. “A lot of the big dealers have weighed in on that, and 340,000 to 350,000 is about the consensus out there, which we agree with.”
RV dealers are still struggling to work through 2022 inventory, Lippert said, estimating dealers still have 35% of their inventory in 2022 models.
The effect will lead manufacturers to continue slowing shipments around the first-quarter 2023 pace, Jason Lippert said, estimating a second-quarter shipment total around 77,000 RVs.
“Not that there is not demand for units to replenish inventory, but they just do not want to start loading newer lots up with ’24 units when there’s still plenty of ’23s and ’22s out there,” he said. “We expect the wholesale to pick up in Q3 as the lots get depleted.”
Jason Lippert credited manufacturers with being “really disciplined” about shipment levels, limiting the amount of 2023 models with so much 2022 stock still on lots.
“We have obviously had this type of situation pop up over the last couple of decades I have been here,” he said, “and I have not seen the OEMs be as disciplined and act as quickly as they have to really make some of these decisions that are going to be better for the industry and the dealers in the longer term here.”
Lippert said aftermarket sales were down from the same quarter of 2022, primarily because of slowing automotive aftermarket activity. Jason Lippert said from an RV aftermarket side, business was buzzing.
“The repair and services are probably a bit heavier … but there are certainly upgrades that happen up front. The vehicles out there today come equipped with a lot of our prep opportunities. We will prep a vehicle for our cameras or for slide-toppers the consumer might want, and they have the part to attach it with on the unit, and then they have to buy the actual physical piece in the aftermarket. I would say (aftermarket sales) are more heavily weighted toward a few years into the ownership with repairs and services.”
