German caravanning industry reports revenue increase

The German caravanning industry reports annual revenue of 14.03 billion euros for 2022. This is a slight increase of 0.5 percent compared with the previous year. New car production turned over 7.5 billion (+ 0.7 percent). The used car (5.2 billion euros) and accessories (1.3 billion euros) businesses were also up. Rising material and energy expenditures had been reflected in higher costs across the sector.

14 billion euros in annual revenue is the ninth consecutive increase in revenue for the industry. As in other sectors of the economy, rising energy and material costs at manufacturers and dealers were reflected in cost increases in the caravaning market. Accordingly, despite problems in production and delivery, revenue increased for the industry.

New vehicle business up despite delivery problems

Business with new motor caravans and caravans again accounted for the largest share of annual revenue in 2022. 7.5 billion euros represent a new all-time high of 0.7 percent compared with the previous year. The industry generated a revenue of 6.2 billion euros from the production of new motor caravans, around 2 percent below the figure for 2021 – despite full order books and high customer demand. Stagnant supply chains and, in particular, a shortage of vehicle chassis had severely impacted the production and delivery of motor caravans. New caravans generated revenue of 1.3 billion euros last year, an increase of 17 percent. The division was able to exceed the previous year’s revenue due to an increase in production and high dealer demand from both Germany and abroad.

Revenue from used vehicles on the rise

Like the new vehicle business, the market for used motor caravans and caravans was up in terms of revenue. The second-hand vehicle trade reported a slight increase of 0.1 percent and amounted to approximately 5.2 billion euros. In parallel with the new vehicle market, the supply volume of used vehicles was unable to fully meet the high demand.

Accessories business also tops previous year’s result

The industry’s third business sector also reported a new record in annual revenue: with accessories, companies generated revenue of around 1.3 billion euros (+ 1.3 percent).

“2022 was an extremely difficult year for manufacturers, suppliers and distributors, characterized by supply bottlenecks and staff shortages. Rising energy and material prices have further exacerbated the situation and presented companies with major problems. Our industry can consider itself very fortunate that customers remain loyal to caravanning despite the pandemic, inflation and general uncertainty. Therefore, our industry is also optimistic about the new year,” summarizes Daniel Onggowinarso, Managing Director of the Caravaning Industrie Verband (CIVD).