Winnebago changes name to Avida

The dust is yet to settle on the court action but Winnebago Australia is transforming into Avida from the end of February. The company says the Avida Motorhomes name will first be promoted as the makers of the Australian Winnebago to establish a link between the brand names, says CEO Ben Binns.

“We have always considered operating with two distinct brands in the marketplace however the legal battle over the rights to use the Winnebago name in Australasia has convinced us that we need to create our own Australian identity,” he says.

US company Winnebago Industries has no association with the Australian company and - after a period of more than 40 years - took action to prevent Winnebago Australia from using the name despite having signed an agreement in the early 1990s, says the Australian company.

An Australian Federal Court decision in July last year ruled in favour of the US company but that decision is being appealed next month. “To have them try to take it away from us so many years later is astounding,” says Mr Binns.

“Avida is a brand which will be with us for many years irrespective of the result of the appeal and to assist in providing credibility to the Avida brand, we intend to promote Avida as the makers of the Australian Winnebago, linking our heritage since 1965 to the newest motorhome brand on the market,” says Mr Binns.

The Avida brand is being launched at this month's SA Caravan and Camping Show and nine of the brand's new motorhomes will be displayed to the public for the very first time. Avida lists a full range of ten models, starting from $99,990 through to just over $600,000 for the flagship Avida Classic motorhome, a 12-metre luxury “home-away-from-home.”

The company boasts a broad variety of layouts and features for buyers to customise their motorhome, including an electric roll-down bed system and even the smallest model is equipped with a fully-functioning bathroom comprising a hot and cold shower, vanity basin and flushing toilet.

Every Avida motorhome also has LED lighting and cooking facilities to be tailored - ovens, grill, hot-plates and microwaves - as well as refrigerators operable on 240-volt, LPG gas or battery power.

The Avida brand also carries with it a two-year/1-million km warranty with roadside assistance (whichever comes first), a five-year structural guarantee and a service network in Australia numbering more than 100 accredited service centres nationally.

Winnebago has been building motorhomes in Australia since 1965 when Bruce Binns, a builder by trade, returned from a US holiday - having seen the growing US motorhome industry in action - and decided to build a slide-on camper for the tray of a 1964 EH Holden ute.

It has recently expanded its manufacturing facility at Emu Plains in NSW, a 3.6 ha site that houses two factories covering more than 17,000 sq m and employs around 160 people.

Mr Binn says the legal action has created anxiety for its workforce but the company is moving forward with its plans. “We have adopted a worse case strategy, a conservative yet exciting approach of launching a second brand  Avida,” he says.

“Whilst we are confident of winning, we intend to promote Avida as the makers of the Australian Winnebago, linking a tried and tested brand to the newest motorhome brand on the market,” he says.