Newmar Dubuts ‘Northern Star’ Brand at Dealer Meeting – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Highlighted by the introduction of the Northern Star, an entry level diesel pusher, Newmar Corporation on Wednesday unveiled its 2025 model year motorhomes during its annual Dealer Meeting at The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Under the theme of “A Heritage of Craftsmanship,” the meetings continues today with the Dealer Awards ceremony taking place this evening before the event concludes Friday afternoon.
During his opening presentation, Newmar President Casey Tubman honored the Newmar legacy of craftsmanship for the past five-and-a-half decades and highlighted the company’s innovations and improvements over the last 12 months, while also painting a realistic picture of a “challenging” 2023 and a 2024 that looks to be just as demanding.
“This past year has flown by with a whirlwind of change in the dynamics of the industry and the products we have brought out for you to see this week. While we have questions about when and how the ‘24 selling season will heat up, there’s no question about the commitment to build the best motor coaches for our customers,” he said.
As far as the past year, Tubman said Newmar was able to closely tie its production pace to its retail sales rate, and he thanked dealer partners for helping the company keep its production steady.
Still, he said, Newmar was not immune to the persistent headwinds affecting the entire industry and the company’s turn rates were affected.
“We are now on a journey to bring that (turn rates) in line with the historical target we’ve had in the past. And one way we are accomplishing this is by shrinking the length of the ‘24 model year on both ends,” he said.
“I’ll say what we said last year, ‘Order what you need and take what you order,’” Tubman said.
For his part, Vice President of Sales Matt Ellinger offered highlights Director of Engineering of the 2025 model year, which numbers some 77 floorplans for 13 brands, including the all-new Northern Star, an entry level diesel pusher that replaces the Kountry Star.
“The Northern Star boasts a redesigned cockpit, brand new interiors, and a floorplan for just about everyone,” Ellinger said. “With new fascia, new headboard, new bedding, porcelain tile, new backsplash, new exterior, and a 10,000-pound tow hitch, the Northern Star is primed to create a buzz and ready to make a splash at a price point landing lower than its predecessor.”
As for the rest of Newmar’s lineup, new floorplans were added, less popular configurations were discontinued and, generally speaking, the interior design took a bold turn into a more contemporary look and feel.
“The crystal ball for 2024 may look a little fuzzy to some, but Newmar’s outlook next year is pretty simple: Never lose focus on building great product and continue to service that product like no one else in the industry. This combination is a winning formula for your dealership and we can’t wait to see your success in the upcoming year,” Ellinger said.
The third Newmar exec to speak during the opening day was Paul White, a U.K. native who joined Newmar last year as the director of engineering and, who presented a host of significant changes. Among them was the implementation of state-of-the-art, 3D CAD and product lifecycle management software tools, which he said was a “big change for us.”
“Now, we’ll be building in 3D, and we can evaluate designs and solve problems long before they see production. We can visualize the exterior and interior designs without building an actual coach, and all departments across the company will have access to the same information in real time,” White told the audience.
Another major change has to do with how the coaches are wired. Previously, wiring was run through walls and above the ceilings before culminating in a “spaghetti bundle” at the lighting control box. Now, those wires are all but removed from the ceilings and instead are nearly organized into a panel located in the basement storage compartment of the diesel brands. This change means electrical issues are more easily diagnosed, and Newmar has reduced the length of wires per coach by 650 feet.
In addition, Newmar has streamlined its multiplex system as well as its cabinetry options.
“In the ‘24 model year, we had 13 wood colors, six clear coat finishes, 13 wall vinyls, and 13 different door styles. For ‘25, we now have five wood colors, including an all-new white, three clear coat finishes, eight wall vinyls, and six door styles, including an all-new shaker style,’ White said, adding that a two-tone cabinetry option is now available on most brands
Lastly, Newmar has reorganized its engineering personnel, moving from brand-specific teams where there was one engineer and one drafter per brand to commodity-based teams with subject matter experts or SMEs.
“These new tools and new org structure allow us to be a lot faster in developing new designs and build a foundation for much greater innovation,” White explained,
