Swift having tough times job losses

Neckender said:
I had virtually the same when I bought a new Auto Sleeper Broadway in 2014, the biggest load of rubbish I have ever owned and I would never buy another Auto Sleeper it spent most of its 3 years down at their factory. It got that bad that we hated the site of it when we opened the kitchen curtains in a morning.

John.
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I open my front door,look at my self build camper and smile at what a good job i did which dont rattle fall apart and does what it says on the tin,then with a big silly grin sod of back in for a nice cup of coffee along with a choc whole meal biscuit. :lol-053:
 
ChrisCross said:
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Your current diesel motorhome, therefore, looks to have a long life ahead of it, with no shortage of filling stations to service it for the next three decades or more! And should we really be so worried about a change promised in 22 years’ time, bearing in mind that this will follow at least four general elections? Especially as one forecast suggests that we’d need to build 10 new nuclear power stations or 10,000 new wind turbines in the UK to cope with a mass migration to electric vehicles, as well as funding a huge investment in vehicle charging points.

Running a motorhome: Alternatives to diesel - Practical Advice - Motorhomes & Campervans - Out and About Live
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The problem is not shortage of filling stations or the banning of new vehicles, but the banning of vehicles from certain areas. Euro 7 will be with us in a few years, so buyers of Euro 6 vehicles are concerned that their large investment may be affected, in much the same way as someone with a 4 or 5 year old Euro 5 vehicle is now. Whether the concerns are justified is both debatable and irrelevant, the mere threat is affecting sales of diesel engined vehicles.
 
Fazerloz said:
From someone with a T5.:raofl::raofl::raofl:
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Had my T5 7 years and still love it. Never had any issues with water ingress or poor build quality and the engine pulls like a train. If I sold it tomorrow I’d get what I paid for it because of the big demand for them. I wonder how much your Swift has depreciated since you purchased it?
 
We had a Bolero for 3 years every time we took it out something fell off. Then I noticed that the door frame was moving and marking the ceiling where it was moving. Took it all to bits and found that the door frame was glued in places to the side walls which were made of ply covered in paper with a wood pattern on it. I can see why they do that because they are trying to save weight but how can you expect to then glue something to it like a door frame. After much head scratching I removed the paper covering where the door frame was and carefully glued and screwed it together and then while it was still in one piece we got shut. Could have taken it to our local Swift Dealer for repair BUT they do seem to employ

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So rather than spend hours taking it backwards and forwards I just fixed it myself as it was quicker and certainly a better job

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caledonia said:
Had my T5 7 years and still love it. Never had any issues with water ingress or poor build quality and the engine pulls like a train. If I sold it tomorrow I’d get what I paid for it because of the big demand for them. I wonder how much your Swift has depreciated since you purchased it?
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I guess if you were a Haddock you would have been wrapped in paper long ago.
 
The company ethos of many British motorhome and caravan manufacturers has similarity to that of Gerald Ratner, who was daft enough to admit jokingly that his jewellery was ''Total crap, but people still buy it''.

He wasn't laughing soon afterwards, when his comment was made public and people stopped buying his crap and the value of his business nose-dived to the tune of £500 million !

The big-name British manufacturers who persist in churning out crap (you know who you are !) need to up their game pronto, or else a similar fate may well befall them.....
 
ChrisCross said:
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Your current diesel motorhome, therefore, looks to have a long life ahead of it, with no shortage of filling stations to service it for the next three decades or more! And should we really be so worried about a change promised in 22 years’ time, bearing in mind that this will follow at least four general elections? Especially as one forecast suggests that we’d need to build 10 new nuclear power stations or 10,000 new wind turbines in the UK to cope with a mass migration to electric vehicles, as well as funding a huge investment in vehicle charging points.

Running a motorhome: Alternatives to diesel - Practical Advice - Motorhomes & Campervans - Out and About Live
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I wouldn't give much credence to anything MMM says. They're part of the industry and are there to support their advertisers not the motorhoming public.(bit like CMC). They clearly indicated this recently when reviewing leisure batteries using the already discredited NCC scheme as a recommendation.They are not about to start knocking the sector that pays their wages.

Although motorhome sales have been rising the bubble is bound to burst soon.Most sales are to retirees who have historically never been so well off with good pensions and the benefits accrued in property price rises.(Before anyone says not me,not me either).This tranche of money is not going to come again.
Add to this ****** uncertainty causing people to hold back on spending and the impending diesel legislation making people jittery. The market is going to be a lot smaller soon, so some will go to the wall. If they're building crap to begin with they will probably go first.
 
Good to know your vehicle is giving you pleasure and not costing you. I think a pvc like yours will hold its value better than the coachbuilt Swifts.
 
Niche market really. doors on the wrong side, rear lounges, large bathrooms, full size cooker ( No hot plate now ), microwave, loads of bling and fancy seat covers. If the home market starts to slow then there is no where else to sell them. You certainly don't see any Swift Dealers on the Continent perhaps they don't want the agro.

Looks like the Aussies don't like them much either there are only 5 Dealers

Swift Group International

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A big part of the reason they are having difficulties is the drop in quality over recent years. I think the board directors need a mirror in the boardroom to see the problem.
 
The way of the world big fish eating the smaller ones hymer bought out Elddis then about a year later the American company Thor industries bought over hymer group. You’ll see more of this with motorhome builders it’s been happening for years with car makers some big outfit will buy swift for name and brand make them even cheaper but better abroad just like the lovely new MG cars from china😂
 
Swift Having Tiugh Times Job Losses.

We are very happy with our Auto Trail. It is almost six years old, and apart from a very few small niggles, it has been brilliant.

I admit the interior build might not be up to N&B or Carthago, but that is reflected in the price! We set ourselves a limit when we bought it. We decided to either buy a new AT or a second hand German built van. I know a new van loses money immediately....but it was our choice to buy a lovely new motorhome with a long warranty. We have never regretted it.

To be honest, I get fed up hearing people complain about some British motorhome makers. I am sure there are some ‘rubbish’ vans but ours has been brilliant. We even thought about downsizing recently and looked at Carthago, but cannot face parting with our lovely motorhome.
 
channa said:
Considering we are told the leisure market is very buoyant it seems Swift group aren't finding it that way ,,,is this the start of a slippery slide, Willoughby (statics) seem in trouble too

Swift Caravans confirms job losses in 'tough trading environment' - Hull Live

Channa
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To put this into context Swift in 2017 employed 1150 staff and this number had increased by 30% over the previous 3 years. I may be right or wrong but the newspaper article in the link above states that the number being made redundant is less than 15 as an HR1 did not have to be submitted.
 
Sker said:
We are very happy with our Auto Trail. It is almost six years old, and apart from a very few small niggles, it has been brilliant.

I admit the interior build might not be up to N&B or Carthago, but that is reflected in the price! We set ourselves a limit when we bought it. We decided to either buy a new AT or a second hand German built van. I know a new van loses money immediately....but it was our choice to buy a lovely new motorhome with a long warranty. We have never regretted it.

To be honest, I get fed up hearing people complain about some British motorhome makers. I am sure there are some ‘rubbish’ vans but ours has been brilliant. We even thought about downsizing recently and looked at Carthago, but cannot face parting with our lovely motorhome.
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I, too, am pleased with my AutoTrail. It is almost 12 years old now and nothing has fallen off or broken yet (touch wood).

It did suffer a problem with water ingress but it has to be said that a vehicle such as this with many joints and seams, and exposed to widely varying temperature, is always likely to be prone.
 
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