Demand for German-made caravans and motor caravans at a record high

Demand among customers for German-made motor caravans and caravans remains high. This situation prompted German motor caravan and caravan makers to ramp up their production once again last year – in this case to a total of 124.288 units. This represents a 1.0 percent increase over 2018, and an all-time record for the German caravanning industry. Motor caravan production rose 2.1 percent, to a record 76,294 vehicles. In addition, a total of 47,994 caravans rolled off the assembly lines of German caravanning plants last year, which is in line with the good prior year’s level (-0.7 percent).

German-made motor caravans and caravans in high demand outside of Germany
The demand for German-made motor caravans and caravans remains high in other European markets as well. Despite a 6.2 percent decline in exports, coming on the heels of five consecutive years of sales growth, the 51,330 motor caravans and caravans exported by German manufacturers in 2019 are still an excellent result. The lower sales figures are mainly attributable to the developments in the UK and Swedish markets, which in aggregate are negative.

A total of 30,589 German-made motor caravans were exported in 2019. And while this represents a 5.5 percent decline relative to the prior year, it is nonetheless the second-best result in the history of the German caravanning industry. As for caravans, 20.741 units were exported – a decline of 7.2 percent, which came on the heels of a very strong 2018 and five consecutive years of sales growth. These circumstances notwithstanding, nearly half (43.1 percent) of German-made caravans were exported. The export quota also showed a slight decline, to 40.1 percent.

“Caravanning holidays are popular not only in Germany, but also throughout Europe – a fact reflected in the growing demand for German-made motor caravans and caravans. The fact that Germany exported more than 51,000 motor caravans and caravans last year makes our nation the market leader in the European caravanning sector,” said Daniel Onggowinarso, Managing Director of the caravanning industry association CIVD. “And although there is currently some softness in a handful of European caravanning markets, the resulting slack in sales is being taken up by massive and growing domestic demand. And thus we are very optimistic about the prospects for 2020,” Mr. Onggowinarso said.

This press release contains estimated figures as at 10 January 2020.