Germany Records Second Highest Record in Sales in the First Half of the Year

A report from the Caravaning Industry Association eV (CIVD) showed demand for motor caravans and RVs remains high in Germany, but supply chain problems are straining the production and distribution of new vehicles.

During the first half of the year, 55,292 new leisure vehicles were registered in Germany, representing a 12.2% drop compared to the record year of 2021. Still, it is the second-best result in the industry’s history for this period, as per a news report by Aboutcamp BtoB.

The figures could have been higher, but supply chain issues have been creating major problems for the industry for over a year.

In the case of motor caravans, there is a particular lack of vehicle chassis, which is why the segment reported a minus of 15.9% with 40,985 new registrations. At 14,217 units, the caravan sector remained at the previous year’s level (+ 0.8%).

Caravanning continues to enjoy great popularity, as shown by the high demand for motor caravans and caravans. 

“The shift towards more individualized, nature-oriented vacations began long before the pandemic and will continue to influence the travel patterns of many people in the future,” reports Daniel Onggowinarso, Managing Director of the Caravaning Industrie Verband (CIVD).

Along with the second-best result in the industry’s history, new registrations in January and February had even topped the figures from 2021. However, supply chain problems and global crises significantly exacerbated the situation for manufacturers and suppliers in the following months.

Compared to the new registration record from the previous year, the motor caravan division has to report a minus of 15.9% for the first six months with 40,985 vehicles but is still above the figures from 2020 (39,627 units). 

Fully-integrated and semi-integrated vehicles, along with compact models, remain highly sought-after by retail and customers alike. However, the absence of a vehicle chassis creates explicitly major problems for manufacturers.

Compared to other kinds of motor homes, the supply of the chassis of ultra-compact camper vans is getting better, which is why the market share of these models has grown this year.

“Registration figures for motor caravans have risen steadily in recent years and would probably have reached record levels yet again this year had it not been for supply chain problems,” Daniel Onggowinarso said.

Caravan production significantly increased 7.9% in the first quarter of the year, as caravans, unlike motor caravans, are not dependent on vehicle chassis. 

However, this vehicle segment also experienced an increasing number of supply chain-related shortfalls toward the summer, which is why the 14,217 new registrations represent only a slight increase of 0.8%. 

“Manufacturers producing motor caravans and caravans have recently increasingly switched to caravan production in order to keep production busy and meet the high demand. However, a lack of materials and components is also causing increasing supply shortages in caravan production,” said the CIVD Managing Director.

According to Daniel Onggowinarso, the coming months will also pose major challenges for the caravanning industry: “Reliable predictions are currently impossible. The general conditions in our industry, like in many other sectors of the economy, are very volatile due to supply chains and global crises.” 

We hope that the supply situation will improve by the summer of next year and, despite all the problems, we are looking to the future with confidence because the enthusiasm of Germans for motor caravans and caravans is as strong as ever,” he said.