“The entire interior features excellent craftsmanship. (…) There’s no rattling or squeaking. Everything fits, stays in place, and works perfectly.” These sentences are taken from the first review of a la strada motorhome in a renowned German trade magazine from the spring of 1987. Even back then, the la strada living space conversion of a VW T3 demonstrated the quality that has since become the brand’s core value at the Hessian motorhome manufacturer: high-quality materials and their first-class workmanship. More than six months earlier, in the summer of 1986, Otto Baumgartner and his son Joachim had founded Baumgartner Reisemobile GmbH. Five years of experience as a caravanning specialist dealer—selling and renting motorhomes as well as converting panel vans with prefabricated kits—had allowed the plan to start their own motorhome production to mature. The first models under the brand name la strada were exhibited at the Touristika trade fair in Frankfurt in November 1986, where they already generated their first sales. This validated the young company’s approach, and in its first year of operation, with just four employees, it produced 20 vehicles under the name la strada. The unusual brand name stemmed from the founders’ enthusiasm for Italy and was not always without its challenges. Because of the Italian name, the vehicles from the Hessian manufacturer were often lumped together by the uninformed with the cheap offerings from the south. For the quality-conscious German motorhome manufacturer, this was an inappropriate comparison. However, through direct experience with the products from Hesse, customers were soon convinced of the quality of “Made in Germany.”
Been through a lot
One of the four employees from the company’s founding year, 1986, is current partner Andreas Dalchow. In 1986, he worked at the plant in Schöneck-Büdesheim as an automotive mechanic, handling the automotive aspects of la strada’s conversions. By the early 1990s, la strada already had 25 employees and was building around 200 vehicles annually. However, the economic downturn of 1993 caused this record figure to slip out of sight for many years. In 1993, la strada had just moved into the factory premises in Echzell—which are still in use today—and had invested heavily. The long-standing decline in motorhome sales in Germany therefore hit the company particularly hard. The increased production capacity of 250 vehicles per year needed to be filled, and la strada attempted to do so with a model offensive. Some models laid the foundation for further success, while others had only a short lifespan. The company had stabilized itself through great effort when the bursting of the New Economy bubble led to another slump in the German market. Shortly after the turn of the millennium, bankruptcy was inevitable. Eugen Immler joined the company as an investor, thereby securing the brand’s continued existence. Immler thus expanded his business portfolio in the industry. As the owner of several retail businesses, a Germany-wide motorhome rental company, and a German motorhome manufacturer, he was already one of the industry’s leading entrepreneurs.
By the mid-2000s, however, it became clear that the founding family’s vision was incompatible with that of the new owner, and so the Baumgartners left the company. In the mid-2000s, Marco Lange was appointed managing director by Eugen Immler. He streamlined the model lineup and introduced European type approval, laying the groundwork for increased exports. Thanks to European type approval, the motorhomes built today in Echzell are eligible for registration throughout the European Union. For a recreational vehicle manufacturer of this size, this was an achievement that was as progressive as it was unusual, and it became the foundation of a European dealer network. Today, around 20 authorized dealers distribute la strada motorhomes abroad, from Norway through Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, and Italy to Austria and the Czech Republic. Eighteen additional dealers serve la strada’s German customers. The fact that la strada places great value on long-standing, positive business relationships, fair dealings, short decision-making processes, and high delivery quality for its products was recognized by the German Caravaning Trade Association (DCHV) in 2025 with the LUPO Partnership Award. According to the DCHV’s laudatory speech, the decisive factors were “the consistently close cooperation with specialty retailers, the deep understanding of customer needs, and the active partnership with specialty retailers.”
The production facility, which was expanded and modernized in 2008, has since been among the most state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities for panel van-based motorhomes in Europe. In 2011, the current shareholders Marco Lange and Andreas Dalchow acquired the company from owner Eugen Immler as part of a management buyout. Operating under the name la strada Fahrzeugbau GmbH, a record 335 motorhomes left the 14,000-square-meter facility in Echzell during the caravanning industry’s COVID-19 boom. In the wake of subsequent supply chain issues, the storage area was expanded in the early 2020s to include an adjacent property. Today, this site houses a warehouse for accessories and purchased parts, as well as the pre-storage facility for Fiat and Mercedes base vehicles. The company’s property area thus grew to 18,000 square meters. Here, around 50 employees pour their heart and soul into building thirteen different models across the three series: Avanti, Regent, and Nova. Despite the company’s turbulent history, the majority of the workforce has been with the company for many years. It is also the combined experience of this well-coordinated team that ensures the high quality standards of today’s la strada motorhomes.
Still a lot to do
Today, la strada Fahrzeugbau GmbH is a manufacturer that specializes exclusively in compact motorhomes. Despite mass production, the majority of the manufacturing steps are carried out by hand. The quality of every single vehicle therefore meets the highest standards of craftsmanship. A list of optional equipment that is uniquely extensive for this vehicle class also allows for an outstanding degree of customization for all la strada motorhomes. The company from Hesse thus considers itself a premium provider in its vehicle segment across all motorhome series.
La Strada has already paved the way to the future with its gas-free Edition 40, which has won awards for innovation, high quality, and design. And even today, the trade press remains impressed: “What La Strada builds seems made to last a lifetime. The quiet interior alone is impressive, and there are many well-thought-out details to boot. If you don’t like stopgap solutions and experiments, this is the right choice for you (…)”—so reads the conclusion of a 2026 test of the Edition 40’s features.
Precision engineering, high-quality interior finishes, and custom-designed features will continue to define this clearly positioned model range. A high level of driving and living comfort within a compact footprint remains at the heart of the specifications.
Media contact:
Ralph Binder
Ralph Binder Public Relations
Tel. +49 (0) 15 77 – 70 91 95 2
ralph.binder@caravaningreisen.de
Formore information and press photos:
40 Years of la strada – Model History
