Polski
Awards for the Best Dealers and an Electric Van That Could Become a Camper
New week in the caravanning industry brings two stories from completely different corners of the world and different stages of the value chain. In the USA, awards were handed out to the best recreational vehicle dealers, while in Hannover Kia unveiled an electric van that's already whetting the appetite of camper conversion companies. Let's look at what both pieces of news say about the direction the whole industry is heading — and why it's worth following them side by side.
01 · Industry Awards
Who's Calling the Shots Among American RV Dealers [1]
RVBusiness's editorial team announced the winners of the fifteenth, anniversary edition of the Top 50 Dealer Awards — the prestigious ranking of the best recreational vehicle dealers in the United States and Canada [1]. More than 200 companies entered the competition, and the final selection was made by a panel of judges during a two-day evaluation session in Elkhart — the unofficial capital of the American RV industry [1]. This format of a two-day, joint assessment makes it hard to dismiss the result as arbitrary or a one-person decision. Beyond the main fifty, special honors were also awarded: Southern RV was recognized for innovation, and Campers Inn RV for customer service quality [1]. The official gala, where we'll learn the full behind-the-scenes story of the selection and speak with the winners, will take place on November 11 in Las Vegas, alongside the RV Dealers Convention/Expo [1].
For the Polish market, this is an interesting organizational lesson. The program has been running continuously for 15 years, has clearly defined categories, an independent panel of judges, and a real scale of entries counted in the hundreds of companies. It's a model worth watching when building homegrown initiatives that recognize camper and trailer dealers — a well-designed industry competition can genuinely raise customer service standards, not just supply material for a certificate on the wall. Awards of this kind also build customer trust, as buyers increasingly check reviews and rankings before choosing a dealership, and for dealers themselves they can be a real marketing argument going into the next season.
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02 · Electromobility
Kia PV7 — An Electric Van Aiming at Camper Converters [2]
From Hannover, where the IAA Transportation show was underway, comes a signal about the future of electric van life. Kia presented its PV7 there — the bigger sibling of the PV5 van already familiar to camper converters [2]. The new vehicle measures about 5.3 meters, offers more than 460 km of range, and fast charging on an 800V architecture that lets the battery go from 10 to 80 percent in around 25 minutes [2]. These are parameters comparable to refueling a classic van during a travel break, which matters a great deal to future owners of electric campers. From the perspective of camper conversion companies, however, the key feature is the flat, spacious cabin — it's precisely this that determines how comfortably a functional living interior can be designed [2].
It's no surprise that conversion companies are already announcing the first camper packages based on the PV7, hoping to repeat the success the smaller PV5 achieved among micro-camper builders [2]. In Europe the model is still in its infancy, but it's worth remembering the name now — before, a year or two from now, the PV7 becomes another popular starting point for conversions, alongside the already proven combustion and hybrid vans. Short charging time and solid range are exactly the parameters that determine whether an electric camper is fit for longer trips at all, and not just weekend getaways close to home base. That's precisely why the Hannover premiere, though aimed mainly at logistics fleets, resonated so quickly within the conversion community.
03
Two Sides of One Industry
Dealer awards and a new electric platform are seemingly distant topics, but they share one thing — both show how the entire caravanning ecosystem is maturing: from sales and customer service to the drivetrain technology that will soon land in conversion workshops. Watching both of these layers at once makes it easier to predict what the market will look like in a year or two — both on dealership floors and on the production line, where the next generations of campers are built.
If you want to see firsthand where the industry is heading — both in terms of customer service and models for recognizing top dealers, and new drivetrain technologies making their way into camper conversions — join us at the International Caravaning Trade Fair – Camper & Caravan Show 2027. That's where dealers, manufacturers, and van-life enthusiasts will come together to show what the next stage of caravanning's development looks like and which solutions will hit the market in the coming seasons.
Invitation
Want to see what an industry looks like when it can reward top dealers while also testing new electric platforms for camper conversions? Visit the International Caravaning Trade Fair – Camper & Caravan Show 2027, where dealers, manufacturers, and converters from across Europe will come together. See for yourself the vehicles, technologies, and trends that will soon be hitting the road and the showroom floor.
International Caravaning Trade Fair 2027Footnotes
[1] RVBusiness — https://rvbusiness.com/rvbusiness-announces-the-2026-top-50-dealer-award-winners/[2] Korea JoongAng Daily — https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/business/kia-debuts-its-pv7-in-hannover-at-iaa-transportation-2026/12875125