Throughout its many years of existence la strada gained experience with almost all current vans. The first van conversion was built on the basis of a Volkswagen T3 in 1986. The models were named HD 60 and HD 85 and had a lot of success in the market. They were available with a nicely shaped Sirius high roof made out of glass-fibre reinforced plastics (GRP). From 1986 to 1990 la strada built 73 vans of these models. In 1989 they completed the panoply with the models Pronto and Primavera on a Ford Transit. Until 1995, 160 vans of this type left the factory. At the same time la strada sold the models Siena and Torino on a Mercedes MB 100 chassis. They became best-sellers with 480 units sold. In 1989 the 4x4 commitment of la strada started with a special version called Dolomiti on a VW T3 Syncro.
In the 90ies the company was pretty adventurous. Looking for new models and more units to sell to fully use the capacity of the new factory in Echzell, la strada started a real model attack. This gave birth to further best-sellers of the brand. The Avanti on Fiat Ducato is still today’s most sold model of the Hessian manufactory and is currently offered with 6 different floor plans. With the chassis change of Mercedes all MB 100 models disappeared in la strada’s catalogue. They were replaced by the models V3, V4 and Carat on a Mercedes Sprinter with long wheel base. The name Regent is still a synonym for la strada models on Mercedes Sprinter. In 1994 la strada even followed unusual paths in converting used MB 208 to the new la strada Magellan. It was sold for 42.800 German Marks, about 15.000 German Marks less than the cheapest new Mercedes van of la strada’s panoply. These models were followed by others on Citroën Berlingo, Ford Transit, Renault Master and Mercedes Vito, all of them quite successful in the market. More exotic were the la strada Due on a LDV Convoy (8 units built in 1997) and the la strada Kia Mobil on a Kia Pregio which was after all sold to 91 clients between 1999 and 2000.
During the 90ies the first bathrooms were integrated into the la strada vans. Introduced for the first time in 1990 in a MB 100 model, also the Avanti L came with a shower, cassette toilet and a basin. These features of comfort can, of course, be found in all la strada models today.
La strada ushered in a new era by launching the model Nova in 2000. For the first time in its history la strada left the classical compact van territory. At the same time the Nova provided a basis for the orientation towards the premium segment of the branch which is characteristic for all current la strada series. The most luxurious model of the brand is a Monocoque-cabin motorhome. An entire new living cabin is built onto a Mercedes Sprinter ladder frame chassis. In difference to other conventional semi-integrated motorhomes built from several parts, the la strada Nova comes with a complete living cabin made in one pour with glass fibre reinforced plastics. Openings, doors and windows are built into foreseen block outs and therefore offer an excellent isolation, high robustness and longevity. This complex construction method will not be found at other manufacturers in Germany. The years 2000 are marked by a new model policy due to a change of the management board. The large variety of models was reduced for demanded floor plans with a high-quality finish. The batches Avanti on Fiat Ducato and Regent and Nova on Mercedes Sprinter were completed by the Trento on Ford Transit and Fano on Renault Master until 2011.
With the chassis change of Ford and Renault the batches Trento and Fano were taken out of the catalogue in 2011. 10 different models in the 3 series Avanti, Regent and Nova are responsible for an increase of production units up to 325 vans per year during the last 5 years.
