Electrified RVs are not new to Winnebago Industries, President and CEO Michael Happe said in response to a recent question regarding electrification.
Electrification recently was in the news after Lordstown Motors announced it would begin work on electrification of RVs, in conjunction with Camping World.
In response to a question from an analyst, Happe said lithium-ion battery systems and solar panels are familiar components to company leadership and innovators, including within Winnebago’s available all-electric Type A specialty vehicle.
“We have an active electrification road map,” Happe said, according to an analyst call transcript provided by Seeking Alpha. “I met with a part of our team yesterday to review that, and we are quickly and intentionally working on [electrification] to make sure that we are competitive in the market in the future. We are certainly aware of some of the other news or the intentions of some other players in the industry. But we are confident that our teams will be competitive in that space.”
An all-electric product is not just about the drivetrain and power system, Happe added. It includes integrating subsystems and alternative power systems that make up the driver’s experience.
“We are not just focused on the technology that drives the product,” Happe said, according to the Seeking Alpha transcript. “We are focused on the integration and the experience with all of the different functionality within the product.
“So, stay tuned. We are active,” he said. “We’ll keep you all updated as news requires. But we are keeping a close tab on the end consumer, and have significant relationships with many technology partners in this space today that we think will be a benefit in the future.”
