News

The German caravanning industry reported a record €12.5 billion turnover in 2020, which is a six per cent increase year-on-year. The news was announced by Herman Pfaff, president of the German Caravan Industry Association (CIVD), at the organisation’s annual press conference this morning.

It is, in fact, the seventh consecutive year that the German industry has posted record results. New vehicle sales brough the largest chunk of that turnover at €6.5 billion, although that figure was down slightly on the all-time record set in 2019. The market for used leisure vehicles grew strongly with an impressive rise of 18.2 per cent to €4.9 billion. The accessories business also showed a strong year, reporting a 7.6 per cent increase to €1.1 billion.

Nobody expects a decline in 2021

This strong base in 2020 has given the German industry a lot of hope for the coming year. Despite coronavirus pandemic, CIVD reported that the majority of its members in the industry are expected a renewed increase in sales figures in 2021 and an upturn in export business. A survey of CIVD members revealed that 87 per cent of motor caravan companies are expecting an increase in 2021, with the remaining 13 per cent expecting a result similar to 2020. Nobody surveyed expects or forecasts a decline in 2021.

Daniel Onggowinarso, managing director of CIVD, said: “Last year, the coronavirus pandemic significantly reduced output in production due to temporary plant closures and faltering supply chains. We assume that we will be able to increase the production volume again in 2021 and, thus, meet the enormously high demand for motor caravans and caravans in Germany and almost all parts of Europe.”

Production was hampered

Despite the positive figures on turnover and the forecasts for continued growth for the coming year, production of leisure vehicles was hampered in 2020 by the pandemic. CIVD reports that it fell about 6.9 per cent, however that still meant that an impressive 115,844 models rolled off the production lines in German leisure vehicle manufacturing facilities last year. 

Daniel Onggowinarso said: “The Corona pandemic has significantly hampered production in our industry. To protect the workforce, many plants had to close temporarily in the spring and numerous components from suppliers were not available, which cost us a month's output. As a result, we were partly unable to meet the high demand for motor caravans and caravans. For 2021, we expect a further normalisation and a significant increase in production, which will also have a positive effect on the export business. New registrations in large parts of Europe are rising again or will remain high, and German manufacturers in particular will benefit from this, as they are the market leaders in Europe.”

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