Camping Trade World – Issue 06

BASE CAMP
GERMAN MUSCLE
■n Europe, Germany is king in
the leisure vehicle industry, we
I
all know that. But the true power
of the industry in the country and the
importance to its economy have never
been understood in as much detail as
they are now thanks to one of the most
comprehensive studies ever undertaken
on the subject by the German Institute of
Economic Research for Tourism (dwif ).
The headline finding of the study was
that the leisure vehicle tourism market
has been vital to the German economy
over the last two years, bringing an
estimated €14.1 billion in turnover. This
was achieved despite the initial tourism
standstill at the start of the pandemic.
German motor caravan pitches recorded
an impressive 10 million overnight stays
in 2020 – an increase of more than 50
per cent for this kind of stay in the total
number of overnight stays in Germany.
To get a better picture of the impact the
caravanning industry has had in Germany,
the dwif analysed things at a district and
regional level with regard to demand for
pitches. Top of the tree with the highest
turnover was Moselle and Saar (€23.2
million), followed by the Baltic Sea (€16.1
million), then the Lower Rhine (€14.4
million), the Lüneburg Heath (€12.9
million) and finally the central Black
Forest (€11.7 million).
As well as revenue, the study examined
the areas where motor caravan overnight
stays were the highest proportionally in
the total number of overnight tourist
stays. The leaders here were Lower Elbe
Lower Weser (23.4 per cent), Hassberge
(22.6 per cent), Middle Weser (18.0 per
cent), Franconian Lake District (16.2 per
cent), Werra-Meißner Land (14.9 per
cent), Franconian Wine Country (13.1
per cent), and Moselle/Saar (13.0 per
cent). Read more on pages 16-17.
MOVIN’ ON AT MERCEDES
It’s been a big couple of months
for Mercedes-Benz in the
world of motorhomes. Back at
the end of December, it was
announced that the majority
of its Sprinter vehicles would
soon benefit from AL-KO
Vehicle Technology’s HY4
levelling support system. The
hugely popular system, which
is already the base for a large
number of motorhomes around
the world has been expanded
with six new variants designed
to make the Mercedes-Benz
Sprinter a motorhome base
vehicle that can work perfectly
with it. There will be two and
three-axle AMC and SLC
▲ The Sortimo eCamper shows Mercedes’ potential in EV RVs.
chassis, MB original frames as
well as vans and AL-KO has
also adapted the control system
for the electronics to the safety
device guidelines required
by Mercedes-Benz, meaning
that the HY4 has become the
first hydraulic support system
on the market to receive a
Photo: Mercedes-Benz/Sortimo
compatibility certificate from
Mercedes-Benz.
As if that wasn’t enough
good news for the German
automotive giant, it has also
revealed big plans for electrifying
the motorhome industry
with its EQV – the batteryelectric
driven counterpart to
the V-Class mid-sized van.
This van has already helped
renowned converters such as
Swiss company Sortimo Walter
Rüegg to create a market-ready
eCamper campervan. Sortimo’s
conversion is modular and
features options such as pop-up
roof with roof bed, multifunction
box with bed and kitchen unit.
One of the standout features in
the lightweight construction,
which offers considerable
advantages for an electric vehicle
– every kilogram saved means
greater range. Solar panels can be
added to the Sortimo eCamper
to help increase self-sufficiency
as they charge both the starter
battery and the auxiliary battery.
08 | www.campingtradeworld.com