China Now Said to be the World’s Fourth Biggest RV Market – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
China has emerged as the world’s fourth-largest market for recreational vehicles, after Australia, the European Union and North America, according to a report by Yicaiglobal.com. This growth is driven by the rising popularity of unique travel experiences, with glamping, or glamorous camping, becoming a significant trend.
Some 14,365 RVs were sold in China last year, according to the latest data.
“China’s RV industry is developing quickly as RV culture becomes more popular and consumer demand for personalized tourism grows,” Gao Wei, boss of a RV assembling company based in eastern Zhejiang province, told Yicai. “And it will also usher in broader development prospects.”
“To many people RVs are still a luxury and are out of reach,” Gao said. “But actually, there are quite a few affordable RVs on the market in China now.”
Priced at around CNY300,000 (USD42,135) each, Class C RVs, which come equipped with beds, ovens, refrigerators, sofas, bathrooms, televisions and stereo equipment, are the best-selling mobile homes on the Chinese market at present, Gao said. Class B RVs are cheaper at CNY200,000 each, and caravans with lower specifications cost even less.
But a lack of suitable campsites in China is holding back the development of the country’s RV market. Even Guangdong, the province with the most RV sales, only has around 20 decent campsites, which is not enough to meet the demand of RV travelers both in terms of numbers and quality.