The new company will create a single platform for trip planning and booking, remote systems monitoring, roadside assistance, and peer-to-peer RV and campsite rental. The system will also streamline an owner’s record keeping and enable dealers and manufacturers to provide such support as triggered service notifications, online vehicle manuals and more.
Thor Industries, Inc., the RV industry’s largest manufacturer, has announced a joint venture with New Zealand based Tourism Holdings, Ltd., touted as the world’s largest RV rental and sales operator. The joint venture, called TH2, plans to leverage digital connectivity and the sharing economy for RV owners around the world.
According to the press release, TH2 will be focused on enhancing the enjoyment and safety of RV enthusiasts by digitally connecting them to a single platform for trip planning and booking, remote systems monitoring, roadside assistance, and peer-to-peer RV and campsite rental. The system will also streamline an owner’s record keeping and enable dealers and manufacturers to provide such support as triggered service notifications, online vehicle manuals and more. The company will also seek to streamline operations for manufacturers, RV dealers and rental operators.
TH2 has entered agreements to acquire trip planning platform Roadtrippers (along with Roadtrippers Austrailasia), Cosmos – a digital platform for RV customer relationship, rental and fleet management, Mighway – a peer-to-peer RV rental platform with operations in both New Zealand and the United States, and CamperMate – Australia and New Zealand’s top camping App.
“As the world leader in the recreational vehicle industry, we are constantly evaluating ways to improve the overall RV experience for our customers,” said Bob Martin, Thor President and CEO. “Through this joint venture, we believe we can offer a variety of products and services that provide invaluable benefits, via digital connectivity, to an evolving consumer base. As the breadth of our consumer base continues to widen, with more and more younger consumers entering the market, we must provide them with innovative solutions to not only capture their interest, but also to retain them as life-long customers.
“We believe TH2’s digital platform will be a game changer for a new generation of RV’ers. This venture brings together our manufacturing experience with THL’s global RV expertise to deliver an industry-best collection of digital services tailored especially for RV’ers,” concluded Martin.
TH2 will be headquartered in Cincinnati, OH and Bob Wheeler, President & CEO of Airstream, a subsidiary of Thor, will also serve as President of TH2.
