Thor, Credit Unions Partner To Extend RV Discounts

NEW YORK (AP) — Recreational vehicle maker Thor Industries Inc. is partnering with an organization of credit unions to offer RV discounts of up to $1,000 for credit union members.

CUcorp, a credit union marketing group, said Wednesday that credit union members are eligible for discounts of $300 to $1,000 on the RVs purchased through Thor's Airstream, Breckenridge, CrossRoads, Damon Motor Coach, Dutchmen, Four Winds and Komfort brands.

Thor Chief Operating Officer Dicky Riegel said the discounts will help the company bring in more business from credit unions, which are member-owned financial institutions that often offer better retail financing terms than banks.

"Credit has been a little bit difficult over the past several months and has contributed to the difficulties we've faced as an industry," Riegel said during a conference call. "To help credit unions gain share of RV loans — which are historically high-performing loans — that is an excellent goal of this program'

The program is the latest expansion of CUcorp's "Invest in America" program, which has offered discounts to credit union members buying vehicles made by Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC. CUCorp CEO Dave Adams said the program has helped to sell 180,000 vehicles so far this year. More than 1,900 credit unions around the country are part of the program, he said.