Winnebago returns: NZ-built Odyssey 40I leads a nine-model relaunch after the Brisbane factory closure

Winnebago Australia has unveiled the Odyssey 40I — the first new model since parent Tourism Holdings closed its Brisbane factory in December 2025 and moved all production to New Zealand. Revealed at the NSW Caravan Camping Holiday Supershow, the 40I is the first of a planned nine-model pipeline across three series.

What the Odyssey 40I is

A four-berth, light-rigid-licence coachbuilt motorhome: island bed in the rear bedroom, Luton bed over the cab, full kitchen, dinette, and separate toilet and shower. Power, lighting and tank management run through a Renogy One Vision System — a single-screen control hub in the vein of the smart-management systems now standard at the premium end.

Design is Australasian; manufacturing is by Action Manufacturing in Hamilton, NZ — the thl-family plant that absorbed Brisbane’s production. A prototype of a second model, the Odyssey 41R, appeared alongside it. Pricing wasn’t announced; further models arrive progressively, spanning both car-licence and light-rigid classes.

Why this launch matters beyond one motorhome

When the Brisbane plant closed, the open question was whether the thl brands — Winnebago, Talvor, Coromal, Windsor — would meaningfully continue in Australia or fade into rental-fleet-only obscurity. The nine-model pipeline is the clearest answer yet: Winnebago is being rebuilt as a retail brand, not wound down.

“We’ve taken a more deliberate approach to how these products are designed and delivered, focusing on quality, durability and usability,” Winnebago Australia COO Stacey Davis said at the reveal.

For buyers, the practical readout:

• Warranty and parts continuity for existing Winnebago owners looks stronger with an active product pipeline behind it
• The NZ-built question now has a concrete first product to judge — build quality of the 40I versus the Brisbane-era units will be the test that matters
• Light-rigid four-berth competition heats up: the 40I lands in the same territory as the Avida Esperance and, above it, the Sunliner Habitat HA1 — a segment where Australian-built incumbents now face a trans-Tasman rival with a global badge

The 40I also lands in a market where imports are near production parity — though NZ-built product from an Australasian design team sits in a different mental category for most buyers than the volume Chinese imports driving that statistic. Whether that distinction holds at the till is the interesting question for 2027.

We’ll add the Odyssey 40I to the catalogue once GVM, dimensions and pricing are published.