Confused by figures
I must start by saying that I am not anti motorhome or anti motorhomer. If money was no object my choice would be to have both to use depending on the type of holiday I’m going on. Im not that rich but I am a bit confused by some figures and statements from the CMC.
The CC/CMC have stated that 40% of new members are motorhomers’ but in another statement on FB from a CMC spokesperson they say “A lot of people were not aware that we accept all types of outfits”. If this is so, how can they also claim that before the rebranding 40% of new members are motorhome owners particularly when official industry figures are considered?
Figures from the NCC state that in Britain there are 550,000 caravans and 205,000 motorhomes. This is a % ratio (in whole numbers) of 73% to 27%.. On this basis, the CC were already attracting more new MH members than the percentage of MH owners nationally. To my mind the reason given for the rebranding does not seem to be based on fact (Fake News??).
The same NCC figures show that in the 9 years from 2005 to 2014 registrations of new motorhomes (DVLA figures) showed an increase from 8,814 in 2005 to a peak of 11,646 in 2007 after which there was a rapid decline in sales to a low of 6,950 in 2011. This drop is attributed to “economic difficulties in the UK”. Since 2011 there has been a small increase in registrations.and by 2014 it was up to 8,733 but still way below the peak sales of 2007. No figures are yet available for subsequent years.
New caravan sales over the same period have shown a continued downward trend from the high in 2007 of 33,350 to a low in 2014 of 18,450 but with a small boost in 2010 to 21,800. Again, figures for subsequent years are not yet available.
The fall in sales of all types of units after 2007 was believed to be due to economic reasons according to the NCC. If post Brexit predictions are correct then I think we can see this reduction in sales happening again. A quote from a major exhibitor at the recent NEC exhibition was “ it was a very tough week”. This is perhaps indicative that the slump may have already started. Obviously most of those already owning either type of unit will continue to use them but this will not change any percentages of who uses what.
My personal belief is that if money becomes very tight for many people, it will reduce new sales of both types of units but it is not rocket science to understand that £20,00 for a caravan is easier to find than £50,000 for a motorhome.
This is just how I read and interpret the statements and figures. Perhaps someone else can put a different interpretation forward?
Comments
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I suspect that the difference in percentages on club sites is due to the fact that many caravans are on seasonal pitches on commercial sites and this does not happen with motorhomes.
I think current sales of caravans is about 25,000 a year.
If there is a downturn in the economy then a reduction in sales of both is almost inevitable but the lower numbers might mean less pressure on production lines and better results, hopefully. Both caravans and motorhomes are something where replacement can generally be left a bit longer so if money is tight then keeping what you have is an option.
Not sure about the point of motorhomes costing more though as a reason for caravans to do better. A caravan needs a larger than otherwise necessary car to tow it so the two can be near the same cost.
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J20, I've been just as confused as you. I've been reading the figures too. Those figures have ranged between 30% & 47% of all LV's on the road are Moho's. I then read this figure did not include the likes of Ford & VW campervans(& the rest) I guess it depends on who or what organisation is crunching the numbers. There seems no definitive figure really
. If all the info was collated there could be more 'none' C/vans on the road.0 -
"Not sure about the point of motorhomes costing more though as a reason for caravans to do better. A caravan needs a larger than otherwise necessary car to tow it so the two can be near the same cost".
Ah, but few people take the kids to school, go to the shops, or library, or a hospital appointment in a motorhome....... so most motor-roamers need a second car.
My preference for a motorhome is due to:
- I can make more relaxed and impromptu/pot-luck unplanned tours with a m/h; I'm ready to leave within 15 minutes.
- Whilst away I can move from place to place frequently and with ease. I rarely stop anywhere for more than one or two nights.
- It's more manoeuvrable and easier to park than an outfit.
- I can use the thousands of foreign Aires in my m/h.
- I'm only getting a most uninteresting sweet Fanny Adams interest on my capital.
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I am sure the figures for vehicle registrations and sales will be near enough correct. I believe Motorised Caravans is the commodity name for all types of Campervans/Motorhomes/Motorcaravans or whatever you wish to call them. I think the club's reference to the 40/60% split Motorcaravans/Towed Caravans is club site occupancy. My experience suggests it's more like 25-30/75-70%, but I'm sure it will vary locally so the club is probably about right.
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According to the NCC (figures published in MMM) sales of new motorhomes in 2016 were 12332 a 16.6% increase on the previous year. Every indication from the trade is that that figure will be exceeded for 2017. Some manufacturers are reporting that their factories are working at full capacity and are not taking further orders from dealers. Obviously difficult to look further ahead although 2018 models will be launched later this year.
If we tend to rely just on Club Together as a tool for gathering information then we miss out of a much wider spectrum of information. As one example I belong to the Bailey Motorhome Owners Group on Facebook which has over 1400 members. It seems to me that many owners are certainly under retirement age and therefore still working and the prospect of spending £50000 on a motorhome does not seem to daunt them. Some are members of the Club but many are not so it is these groups of people that the Club is trying to attract.
Another important change in recent years is that the price of caravans, especially those of a higher spec, have increased in price quite substantially and now a price in the mid £20000's is quite normal. Motorhomes on the other hand have seen the introduction of sub £40000 ranges. The price of a towcar has to be taken into account in the cost calculation and it was one of the things that persuaded us that it was the time to change to a motorhome.
Finally I would say that if the UK follows the trends in Europe motorhomes sales will eventually eclipse those of caravans. That might be a few years away yet but I suspect it is heading that way. Just as an example, years ago you would hardly ever see a Dutch motorhome as they always seemed to have caravans. In recent years there has been a swing to motorhomes.
David
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I don't think the sales figures for caravans and Motorhomes are relevant. 40% of CAMC members own a Motorhome, that's all.
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As someone who owns both, all I can say is that there is perhaps too much boring amateur analysis going on at the moment, over names, how various outfits are used, which percentage figures to believe.
Different outfits, be it tent, trailer tent, camper van, caravan and motorhome, suit different people at different times in their lives, for different reasons. If the Club has finally realised that it does have a history of being rather exclusive over how it welcomes certain outfits, than hurrah that they are finally doing something about it, not before time.
Persuading some members to alter a deeply ingrained mindset will be a challenge, but much like the fate of the dinosaurs, it will be a case of evolve or eventually die out.
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Different outfits, be it tent, trailer tent, camper van, caravan and motorhome, suit different people at different times in their lives, for different reasons. If the Club has finally realised that it does have a history of being rather exclusive over how it welcomes certain outfits, than hurrah that they are finally doing something about it, not before time.
I never felt excluded when, many rears ago, I had a trailer tent. Maybe times have changed and trailer tents less common.
Do any UK companies still make demountables?
ETA - Niche RV - UK dealers for Northstar Campers
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Our second experience of CC in our mid 20's was a shocker. We had a tiny pop roof camper van (A60 Suntor) at the time. We pulled up at Berwick site reception all smiles, to be greeted with some grim faced green clad gremlin, who told us the Club didn't take our sort of vehicles, only proper caravans and camper vans. I was rather more tolerant in those days and invited her to take a look inside, and watch while we put the roof up and turned it into a two berth camper.
We were actually members having joined the same holiday up at North Ledaig, so were a tad grudgingly allowed on site. We did look at a Land Rover camper with roof tent after that, but no doubt that wouldn't have been allowed. It was a very inclusive snob ridden bastion of Little Britain in the early 1980's. We only joined because we needed sites with loos and showers so gritted our teeth.
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What's up with trailer tents? Are they inferior? You didn't feel the club was snobby even ithough you had a trailer tent? How condescending is that?
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My understanding is that 40% of current members own motorhomes and 60% own caravans at least that is the way I read it?
David
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It weren't a very posh one.
I would have thought snobby would look down on old caravans and anything with canvas. As I said never found snobby. And, as for looking down on trailer tents I certainly don't. I love to see them. Haven't seen one in the last 3 or 4 years on a CC site though.
By the way, please do not attach intentions to my use of words that are simply not there within my thoughts. There's a good chap
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I can only interpret what I read. I think snobery is a phenomena which some people are made to suffer from by others who deny that it exists.
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You need to bear in mind, Obber, that there are different ways of interpreting every statement.
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"Not sure about the point of motorhomes costing more though as a reason for caravans to do better. A caravan needs a larger than otherwise necessary car to tow it so the two can be near the same cost."
Sorry for being off thread but if we only ever bought what was necessary then this thread would be irrelevant as neither a MH or caravan is 'necessary'.
It seems that the flurry of posts comparing one with tother and, perhaps,prompted by the name change has resulted in the startling trend of people with an MH telling us how great they are and people with caravans telling us how great they are.
As many of my Cornish colleagues would have said "matter do it?"
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As many of my Cornish colleagues would have said "matter do it?"
It obviously matters that is why people make a choice between the two - because one is better suited to their way of holidaying or storage or maybe because they already have a substantial vehicle available a a tow.0 -
Hi Easy,
The saying is another way of asking why are you worrying about something that either does not matter or you can do nothing about.
I meant this to refer to the many discussion lately of 'this versus that'.
As you said yourself people enjoy being campers and the choice of unit is a very personal thing so, as far as my thoughts or opinions about what others do are concerned,'matter do it'?
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There are a few things here-
1. Basing numbers on new sales alone biases away from all the new members who buy second hand, a lot of first time motorhomers will buy a used van first rather than invest in a brand new van.
2. The downturn in sales probably started with the VAT increase from 17.5% to 20% which is a great deal of money on a £50,000+ investment. The brexit increase in cost and inflation rise will further compound this, along with the uncertainty of potential job losses if the economy slows.
3. A lot of people buy "day" vans that aren't classed as motorhomes, or there are self-build or professional conversions of commercial vans that although classified as motorhome on the V5 document won't be classed as a new motorhome.
Yes, there are more caravanners around on the sites, but over the last few years there certainly has been an increase in motorhomes/camper vans and as the average age of members goes up there will probably be more that move to a motorhome just to save the physical work of a caravan.
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