Caravan manufacturing enjoyed stellar 2022, new figures show

Caravan manufacturing in Australia has enjoyed its best sales since the 1970s, with 28,031 new units sold in Australia last year.

A desire to reconnect with the outdoors drove sales of locally-made caravans to increase by 17.1 per cent in 2022 compared to the previous year, while Australians also upped purchases of imports by 8.4 per cent to 20,498, according to the Caravan Industry Association of Australia.

Exports of Australian-made caravans were up nearly 230 per cent over the period to 9,568 units, the nation’s peak body for the caravanning and camping industry said in a statement on Monday.

The association’s CEO, Stuart Lamont, said that, “Australia is renowned for producing rugged product suited to our stunning yet unforgiving terrain. 

“Our industry through COVID was able to pivot and mobilise during challenging times, and now that labour and supply chain interruptions have minimised we continue to see strong output particularly from local manufacturers.”

According to the Caravan Industry Association of Australia, output was “not seen since post Cyclone Tracy”, with Lamont adding that the result cemented recreational vehicles as “as one of Australia’s largest remaining bastions of automotive manufacturing”.

Picture: Caravan Industry Association of Australia