Camping Trade World – Issue 09

THE DETAIL SUPPLY CHAIN CRISIS
▲ Vehilce chassis are one major stumbling block in the motorhome supply chain at present – a problem that needs a solution.
S
■upply chain – these
are two words that
strike fear into the
heart of anyone in the caravan
and motorhome industry
right now. A global pandemic
that still isn’t over, a war in
Europe, the climate crisis, cost
of living – all of these things
are contributing to disruption
in the supply chain for almost
all industries, but particularly
for the manufacture of leisure
vehicles. It’s a strange situation
for this industry, as despite
these challenges, a level of
demand that is higher than ever
is softening the blow.
The perfect example of this
can be seen in Europe’s most
important market Germany,
where its Caravanning Industry
Association (CIVD) recently
reported that despite a drop
of 12.2 per cent in new leisure
vehicles registered in 2022 at
the halfway point in the year,
the figure of 55,202 is still way
ahead of figures from 2020
and is the second best result in
the history of the industry. It’s
reason enough to celebrate, but
many including CIVD can’t
help but wonder what those
figures might have reached
without the strains on the
supply chain.
The main problem for
leisure vehicles is a lack of
vehicle chassis, this has led
to the motorhome sector of
the market reporting a 15.9
per cent decrease on new
vehicles registered to 40,985
vehicles, compared to 2021’s
figure. It is however up on
2020’s figure of 39,627. While
traditional motorhomes have
been hampered by chassis
issues, the supply situation for
ultra-compact campervans looks
better, which has led to this
market segment increasing.
CIVD’s managing director,
Daniel Onggowinarso, said:
“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.
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.”
For towable caravans, the
figures for the first quarter
of 2022 showed a significant
increase of 7.9 per cent for
new vehicles registers – in part
because caravans do not rely
on vehicle chassis to be built.
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 per cent.
Daniel added: “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.”
So, while there is cause for
optimism in general with the
latest figures from Germany, the
future still looks uncertain with
some major obstacles still to be
overcome. Daniel concluded:
“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.”
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