Press releases

The Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf has been a positive experience for Hobby. Potential customers of all ages and enthusiastic dealers flocked to Hobby’s exhibition stand to find out all about the company’s latest stylish caravans and motorhomes. Customers were particularly drawn to the modern EXCELLENT and PRESTIGE caravan model ranges boasting redesigned interiors. The overcab motorhomes from the popular OPTIMA ONTOUR model range also wowed the crowds this year.

With simple lines and a modern colour scheme, Hobby will be unveiling its new caravan exterior at this year’s Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf. In the interior, the focus is on the two popular EXCELLENT and PRESTIGE model ranges, which most particularly benefit from a new furniture design. The North German manufacturer continues to expand the model ranges of its semi-integrated motorhomes in the entry-level and mid-range price segment, while also enhancing the van range by giving the Hobby Vantana an even more generous sense of space.

Back in February, Bernd Löher took on a new position of responsibility as the Managing Director of Hobby, the north German manufacturer of leisure vehicles. The chief priorities of the 50-year-old family man include getting to know employees and understanding Hobby. In addition to the general management of the company, Mr Löher will focus on managing the Commercial Division, as well as Production, Development and Materials Management. As a further Managing Director, Holger Schulz is responsible for Sales, After-sales and Marketing.

Following a four-week shutdown, the Hobby caravan factory is gradually resuming production. Operations will recommence in certain areas from the 20 April onwards in compliance with strict hygiene regulations. Production, occupational health and senior managers are adopting an extensive package of measures to keep the risk of infection for staff members as low as possible. The works council, local health authorities and national occupational safety authorities are also on board.

The senior Hobby management team is responding to the rules adopted by the federal and regional authorities in Germany and implementing these within its own company. Production and all of the associated areas of the business have been halted until further notice. However, the administration department can still be contacted, and the deadlines for leak tests have been extended until July 2020 for customers.

For Hobby, the new year is off to a sensational start following a hugely successful exhibition in Stuttgart. What’s more, the readers’ poll of one of the largest German trade journals has confirmed that Hobby’s extensive model portfolio is proving to be a big hit. Two of the north German manufacturer’s model ranges have done exceptionally well in the rankings: the entry-level caravan ONTOUR came out on top in the lower mid-range segment, while the PREMIUM came second in the upper mid-range segment. The family-friendly caravans in particular went down very well with the exhibition visitors.

The new Hobby OPTIMA ONTOUR EDITION van’s compulsory date with the test track was a resounding success. The course, which is designed to test road safety and driving quality, features all of the challenges that are encountered in day-to-day life, such as potholes, road bumps or rumble strips, and simulates driving roughly 100,000 kilometres on the road. The vehicle is regularly inspected by the Hobby motorhome design and quality assurance teams in between the tests.

Messe Düsseldorf is honouring Harald Striewski, the owner and founder of Hobby, as an “Extraordinary Entrepreneur in the Caravanning Industry”. The award honouring the success story of the north German company will be presented as part of a ceremony at this year’s Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf. Innovations such as the introduction of the automatic reversing system, the development of the cassette toilet, as well as the on-board management system developed by Hobby are key milestones in the caravanning industry, which were brought about by Harald Striewski and Hobby.

With its extremely successful participation in the Caravan Salon 2019 in Düsseldorf, Hobby is looking forward with confidence to the 2020 caravanning season. Especially well-received in the motorhome segment were the two new entry-level ranges OPTIMA ONTOUR and OPTIMA ONTOUR EDITION. Hobby customers were impressed with the fully equipped models and their top price-performance ratio. In the caravan segment, family layouts again proved to be particular favourites. The two new models in the PRESTIGE range, the 560 FC and the 720 WQC, were popular with buyers due to their spacious interiors.

Hobby successfully started the first weekend of the Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf. Whether young or old, motorhome or caravan, the leisure vehicles of the North German manufacturer are very popular with customers all over the world. New doors are opening for Hobby in the Asia-Pacific region: A contract with a new trading partner in China was officially signed at the Hobby trade fair stand.