Despite the difficulties, registrations in 2022 in Germany exceeded 90,000 units, said CIVD

The association of German manufacturers of recreational vehicles (CIVD, Caravaning Industrie Verband) today announced the 2022 results for the German recreational vehicle market: around 91,000 total units between motorhomes and caravans, with a decrease of 14.3 percent compared to 2021. In 2020 and 2021, more than 100,000 new vehicles had been registered in Germany – record figures for the industry. The main reason for the decline in new car registrations is the lack of supply.

The figures could have been significantly higher, but with struggling supply chains and understaffing, companies have been unable to keep up with demand. The supply chain problems had already started in 2021 and have worsened over the past 12 months. A frustrating situation for manufacturesr, who were only able to meet the demand late and with higher costs for materials and energy.

Third best result ever

As in previous years, however, the demand for leisure vehicles will also remain high in 2023. Motorhomes and caravans are not only trendy due to the pandemic, but they also have in fact been growing in popularity across Europe for many years, and the 2022 result of 90,985 represents the third best ever.

Difficulties in the supply chain have had a significant impact on the motorhome sector, where manufacturers record very high orders. In particular, the shortage of looms caused a slump in production and demand far exceeded supply. With 66,507 new registrations, the drop was 18.3%, but the numbers clearly exceed those of the pre-Covid years.

With 24,478 units and a slight decrease of 1%, registrations of caravans were instead in line with the previous year. Much of the German production was destined abroad, and therefore the demand in the local market was not fully satisfied.

The industry looks to 2023 with optimism

Although the caravanning industry cannot set a new registration record for the first time in many years, Hermann Pfaff, President of the CIVD, is satisfied with the annual results: “The general conditions for the caravanning industry were again extremely difficult last year. Our industry has never experienced such a complex and challenging situation in this form before. The approximately 91,000 new registrations are therefore a more than solid result”.

Looking to the future, the president is optimistic: “Due to the many volatile factors, we cannot make any specific forecasts at present. However, the fact is that motor caravans and caravans are still very much in vogue. In principle, we believe that the supply situation will also improve in the course of this year. Companies will then be able to better process their numerous orders again and waiting times for ordered vehicles will become shorter“.