On April 18, 2018, the Sino-German Evanheim-Langchen RV project joint venture cooperation conference was held in Luoyang.
On September 18, 2018, the Evenheim Group and Thor Group announced their merger.
The confluence of RV companies is coming, and they are attacking the RV market with a lot of technology, experience, market and other resources. In this tide, where will the Chinese RV companies go.
Win-win cooperation has become the mainstream of today’s society. Give full play to their respective strengths and combine various resources to achieve common goals. The cooperation between RV companies at home and abroad is no exception, such as Yate and PLA, Brilliance and Aditya, Cheetah and Pilote (Pailite), etc. However, these cooperations have not yet reached the level of “FAW-Volkswagen” and “GAC Toyota” which jointly launch Sino-foreign joint venture brand models.
In 2018, the Sino-German Evanheim-Langchen caravan project plans to invest a total of 600 million yuan, and build a project with an annual output of 10,000 caravans in phases. It is not known how far it can be realized in the end, but it is foreseeable that this will have a huge impact on the Chinese RV industry. Due to time reasons, Langchen has not launched a joint venture brand RV, and can only get a glimpse of the leopard from the Sunlight T60 RV imported from Haim.
European characteristics
Sunlight T60 is a self-propelled C-type caravan of Sunlight, a sub-brand of Heim. The caravan has typical European features, with smooth exterior lines, although it is a C-type caravan, it has a slender body. The cockpit is equipped with an aerodynamic cab cover, which effectively reduces the wind resistance when the vehicle is running. The roof and rear of the caravan are made of reinforced GRP, and the side panels are made of aluminum plates with excellent surface quality. Has good durability and weather resistance. The chassis is the Fiat Ducato chassis with the highest share in the European market. This chassis uses a 2.3L diesel engine and is matched with a 6-speed manual transmission. In order to adapt to the use of RVs, the wheel base has been widened on the original basis.
The internal layout of the T60 is more practical, and the front and rear functional areas are more clearly divided. The front is the living area, and the rear is the sleeping area. The warm-colored interior composed of light-colored wood grain furniture boards and white matte panels makes people feel a strong family atmosphere in the RV. In order to save space, the booth sofa uses the living area formed by the driver’s seat and the front sofa seats. The gas stove, sink, refrigerator, and wall cabinets in the kitchen area are well designed, but they are not suitable for cooking Chinese food. The toilet adopts a folding design that is extremely rare in China, and the toilet can be quickly turned into a shower room by rotating the washbasin.
the only way
Frankly speaking, after looking at many domestic RVs, looking at this Sunlight T60 RV will give people a bright feeling. The smooth appearance and reasonable layout are slightly better than domestic RVs. In terms of styling, it not only conforms to the aerodynamic design, but also has its own style expression, which is something that the stereotyped domestic RVs still need to learn. The interior design of the RV maximizes the folding space and multi-functional products, and maintains a sense of family atmosphere. This RV is worth learning in terms of product design and material application, and what is more worth knowing is the standardized process in the product production process.
While studying abroad, domestic RVs also have their own advantages. The first is localization. RVs originated in Europe and America, and different RV cultures have developed in Europe and America. In China, due to differences in regions and cultures, there will inevitably be different RV cultures, but they have not yet fully formed. The one who understands oneself best is always oneself, and imported products may be unacceptable to some extent. The second is no mindset. Domestic RVs have just emerged, and most RV practitioners are half-way monks. Non-major background, of course, will have weak basic skills and some minor problems, but it also has the advantage of not having a fixed mindset. For example, the outdoor kitchen of the RV is developed under the premise of localization and no stereotypes.
Under such conditions, the combination of home and abroad has become the only way for RVs. Although all companies have just started this road, the difficulties on the road have already been seen. Compared with Europe and the United States, the domestic RV market can only be regarded as small. Although the future potential is huge, it is not easy for international RV companies to enter the country on a large scale. How to dominate and master the core technology in the process of convergence requires some brains, and it is not something that can be fully grasped only by policies and funds.
Core Technology
The core technology of the RV includes two parts: the chassis and the upper body. Chassis technology involves the foundation of the automobile industry and the experience of using RVs, and requires the combination and cooperation of the two. The core of the bodywork part is not the conventional design, assembly process, etc. These are important, but they can be accumulated through experience. In terms of aerodynamics outside the car and weight reduction of the car, domestic RVs are far behind European and American RVs. I haven’t collected any research and experiment data on aerodynamics of domestic RVs yet. As for weight reduction, China is still in the era of pursuing large and complete RVs, and the work of weight reduction has a long way to go.
Only by mastering the core technology can we focus on customers and use in-house products to impact the European and American markets in reverse. In fact, domestic RVs have already landed in Australia and Japan, and accessories have already been sold to European and American markets. To make more RV products go abroad and go to the world, not only the support of large capital and policies is needed, but also the efforts of RV companies themselves. What RV companies need to do now is to create RV routes with their own unique style while absorbing foreign experience and combining their own advantages.
