The future development of Bavaria is taking clear shape: The yacht builder, respected worldwide for its good price/performance ratio, will once again build its boats one hundred percent in Germany. Bearing the seal of quality “Made in Giebelstadt”, both sailing and motor yachts will be manufactured and handed over to customers in Franconia. The R55 motor yacht, previously produced in Croatia, will for the first time be hand-built at the company’s headquarters in the first half of 2019. The moulds and tools are currently being transported from Croatia to Germany and installed in Giebelstadt. Development and construction will primarily be under own management
“We want our outstandingly well trained and committed employees to develop and build all our yachts primarily under own management. The workforce identifies strongly with Bavaria Yachts; it is the key feature of our company,” explains Erik Appel, Managing Director. “This is why we intend to further increase our permanent staff and simultaneously reduce the proportion of temporary workers. This will help considerably to bring down production
Costs.”
The series production that Bavaria Yachts stands for is being taken to new levels. To do this, it will be necessary to greatly reduce the complexity that has emerged in recent years. The current portfolio includes 26 models – within the next three years it is to be focused on 10 to 12 models which are efficient and popular in the market. “Our model
range will be more attractive and at the same time of a highly reliable quality, with a portfolio of the same size,” adds Erik Appel.
Work has already started on this, and production has been modified in some important respects: The C65, presented in 2018 but not successful, will no longer be built; the ELine (electric propulsion and hybrid yachts) has been discontinued. The C50 sailing yacht has been removed from series production and technically reworked as a prototype. Following successful re-engineering, the C50 will return to series production from November 2018. The findings from this process will now be transferred to the flagship C57 and its little sister C45. The new COO has ensured the feasibility of producing the largest sailing boat at the Giebelstadt site. The C57 is now on the production line and at the same time the findings from the C50 are being made use of in the ongoing production of the C57.
Moderate new developments are planned from 2019. Two or three new product launches per year are feasible for a shipyard. Fast production, reliable quality and plenty of space, along with sporty performance and a competitive price/performance ratio, are to be the hallmark of Bavaria Yachts once again.
“We want to regain lost trust. We intend to keep Bavaria’s promises and meet its delivery dates. Quality must also improve again,” stated Dr. Ralph Kudla. “And we want to involve our dealers more closely in strategy and product development. A dealers’ advisory board will be introduced to this end. In this way, we will hear customer feedback, pick up on it and turn it into product improvements as quickly as possible.”
