Instead of traveling to exotic countries, Germans today prefer to explore the sights of their own country
According to the Federal Motor Transport Authority, about 76,000 trailers were registered in Germany in the entire year 2020. As "Russkaya Germaniya" notes, this is 40% higher than the number of registered vehicles of this type in 2019. The authority's statisticians also note that from January to September 2021, their employees issued registrations for 67,000 motorhomes and suggest that by mid-autumn these figures may exceed last year's figures.
The largest German manufacturer of motorhomes and trailer hitches, Erwin Hymer Group, despite the economic recession, is recording record profits. Since the start of the pandemic, the number of orders for motorhomes and their components has increased significantly, and the company's turnover in 2020 grew by 23% to 2.7 billion euros. In total, last year the concern sold more than 65,000 specialized vehicles, and in 2021, the company's management repeatedly stated its desire to increase production capacity.
The company from Bad Waldsee made the most profit from sales of motorhomes, which increased by 60% last year. The most popular among German buyers are spacious panel vans built on the basis of the Fiat Ducato and VW Crafter car brands. According to information published by the Caravaning Industry Association (CIVD), vehicles of these two brands accounted for more than 50% of all motorhomes registered in Germany in 2020.
Erwin Hymer Group CEO Martin Brandt believes that caravaning has become an integral part of German society. The popularization of road trips during the pandemic, according to Brandt, is primarily due to the growing interest in this type of recreation among Germans under 50, who previously preferred to spend their savings on foreign trips. "Many young families have discovered the opportunity to vacation in trailers. In some cases, this type of vehicle can even replace a passenger car. Our company has encountered unusual demand," says Martin Brandt.
Tourism economics researcher and professor at the International University of Hanover, Ina zur Oven-Krockhaus, believes that the growth in young people's interest in trailer travel and stops at campsites should not be linked solely to the pandemic. "This industry was actively developing even before the crisis and has undergone significant image changes in recent years. Traveling in a trailer has become a common thing for many people," says the professor.
Zur Oven-Krockhaus also added that the current fashion for motorhomes coincided with Germans' need to realize a "sense of freedom and independence," which has become especially acute after recent quarantine restrictions. "Vacationing in a house on wheels has become a trend. The lack of alternatives during the pandemic prompted many people to try this type of recreation for the first time," the researcher stated.
Not only German trailer manufacturers benefit from the new fashion, but also the owners of thousands of campsites, who have faced unprecedented demand for their services. Private entrepreneur Patrick Motz from the island of Reichenau, who owns a tent camp with 141 parking spaces in a nature reserve in the southwest of Lake Constance, is surprised by the unprecedented hype surrounding trailer tourism and cannot recall anything like it in the half-century history of the family business.
However, even with a significant increase in profits, the last 1.5 years have been a difficult time for Motz. "Our guests have to book places several months in advance. And this nomadic type of recreation often brings only disappointment to our clients," the entrepreneur states. Motz recalls that recently he has often had to deal with aggression from clients who did not reserve a place in the campsite in advance and are not ready to continue a tiring trip. In some cases, the conflict can only be resolved with the help of the police.
The increased interest of German residents in motorhomes and the desire of their manufacturers to increase output could lead to an unexpected contraction of this market segment by the end of the year. CIVD Managing Director Daniel Onggowinarso believes that potential sellers of this type of vehicle will have to demonstrate unprecedented flexibility in the coming months to avoid losing their customers and minimize possible financial losses caused by inevitable delays in the supply of microchips and production raw materials.
"Companies are faced with a paradoxical situation where they have many orders, but they cannot fulfill them due to the lack of key components for running gear. People want and are ready to buy, but there are not enough vehicles for everyone," says Onggowinarso. The expert notes that many German residents who have decided to purchase their own house on wheels have to wait for a new vehicle for several months, and these periods, depending on the model and configuration of the trailer, may soon increase to 1.5 years.
"The current situation is sobering: a lot of effort and money has been invested in the mobile tourism sector in recent years, but even now, at the peak of this economic sector, entrepreneurs cannot extract maximum profit," says Onggowinarso. He is convinced that difficulties with the supply of microchips and production raw materials in this market segment will last at least until mid-2022, and this time should be used by the state and private entrepreneurs to build new campsites.
Without this, a promising sector of the economy could face a sharp decline in consumer interest, as people are unwilling to spend tens of thousands of euros on buying a motorhome if the trip will be ruined by a frantic search for a parking spot. At the same time, the director of CIVD positively assesses the prospects of car tourism and notes that the number of trailer owners is at a record high, gradually increasing the financial attractiveness of businesses serving this industry.
If consumer interest remains high and with some efforts from industrialists and private entrepreneurs, this sector of the economy could become very attractive for investors seeking the least risky ways to grow their capital.