First the Microbus, and now the Westy. Iconic German camper van brand Westfalia, still beloved coast to coast across America for the pop-up Volkswagens it made decades ago, is deep in plans for a grand American return. Its new van won't be based on a Volkswagen, but it will be a classic pop-top with sleeping space for the family.
2003 is sometimes confused as the year Westfalia left North America, but that was merely the last year Volkswagen sold the Eurovan/Type 2 van series on the continent. By that point, Westfalia was owned by DaimlerChrysler, and Volkswagen was moving its camper program in-house.
DaimlerChrysler's decade at the helm brought a new Westfalia to America – Europe's Mercedes Sprinter-based James Cook was sold as the Dodge Sprinter Westfalia with help from another iconic camper brand: Airstream. Airstream imported close to 200 of the vans in 2005 and 2006, but when sales didn't meet expectations, it canceled the model, leaving Westfalia to quietly exit the US.
Nearly two decades later, Westfalia is officially on its way back with help from Canadian camper van brand Roadtrek. Roadtrek was acquired in 2019 by France's Rapido Group, which also owns Westfalia. Since that acquisition, Roadtrek has continued focusing on its core lineup of camper vans, including the Zion, but it's also been working behind the scenes with the folks at Rapido and Westfalia to plot the latter's return to the market where it's still fondly remembered as a freedom-of-the-road icon.
Westfalia North America will host its official relaunch in 2024, and it will be showing potential dealerships its first product this month. We'd like to say that it will be the centerpiece of a sun-flooded exhibit at this week's Hershey show, a natural debut venue billed as America's largest RV show, but Westfalia North America will remain in stealth mode for now, holding the initial reveal exclusively for dealers at the RV Dealer Open House in Elkhart, Indiana, later in September.
The initial teaser photo of the van that's simply being called a "North American Westfalia Van" is mostly blocked out by a couple of vibes-and-breaks seeking surfers, but it shows what's clearly a full-size van – no surprise there since small and midsize vans are dead in North America. We can't say we immediately recognized the van by its nose and forehead, but a closer comparison of those dimples and lines shows this one to be a Ram ProMaster. That makes sense because Westfalia has plenty of experience working with the ProMaster's Italian-surnamed cousin, the Fiat Ducato. The van in the teaser also flashes a peek at its pop-up roof.
In Europe, Westfalia currently offers the Fiat Ducato-based Columbus camper van with an optional pop-up roof. The Columbus series features a classic floor plan, starting with a raised rear double bed over top of the cargo floor. Amidships, campers find a kitchen block on the passenger side and a wet bathroom on the driver's side. The frontmost area houses a dinette with two-seat rear bench and swivel driver's cab seats. The dinette can be optionally folded into a bed on some models. We suspect Westfalia will simplify its American relaunch by bringing an adapted version of one or more of the existing Columbus vans over.
We won't see the details as quickly as we'd like, but with Westfalia's American launch coming next year, it won't be too long a wait, either. The company will build its American camper vans in Ontario and plans to sell them through an exclusive dealership network.
Source: Westfalia North America via RV Business
