Over 215,000 new registrations: European caravanning market proves robust and versatile

Stuttgart / Frankfurt am Main, 19 January 2026

In 2025, a total of over 215,000 new leisure vehicles were registered in Europe. Compared to the previous year, this represents a slight decline of around 2.6 per cent. The European caravanning market thus once again exceeded the 200,000 new registrations mark and continues to perform at a high level. The main driver of the overall positive results is the motor caravan segment, while new caravan registrations are below the previous year’s level but remain stable overall.

The European caravanning industry recorded a good annual result in 2025 with a total of around 215,000 newly registered leisure vehicles. This means that the 200,000 mark for new registrations was exceeded for the eighth year in a row. With 94,134 newly registered leisure vehicles, Germany remained by far the largest caravanning market in Europe in 2025 and once again contributed the largest share to the overall European market. France, the second-largest market, reported 33,504 new registrations, which was almost on a par with the previous year, down 0.2 per cent. The United Kingdom recorded just under 26,000 new registrations, a decline of around 7 per cent compared to the previous year.

Motor caravans remain a stabilising factor for the market

The motor caravan segment once again proved to be a key pillar of the European caravanning market again in 2025. Around 161,000 new motor caravans were registered across Europe, representing a slight increase of around 0.6 per cent. In Germany, 75,368 new motor caravans were registered (+0.9 per cent). France was almost on a par with the previous year at 26,335 units (-0.2 per cent), while the United Kingdom, the third-largest motor caravan market, achieved an increase of around 1.3 per cent with approximately 16,700 new registrations. The trend was particularly pronounced in Sweden, where new motor caravan registrations rose by 46.6 per cent (4,201 new registrations). The decisive factor here was the abolition of a previously disadvantageous tax regulation for motor caravans, which noticeably revitalised the market.

Italy also managed to further strengthen its position. With growth of 10.7 per cent to a total of 7,709 newly registered motor caravans, the country ranks fourth in Europe. In the Netherlands, 2,937 motor caravans were newly registered, representing an increase of 19.1 per cent. Despite slight growth in the caravan segment, a shift towards motor caravans is also evident in this market.

Solid growth of around 11 per cent was also recorded in the still young motor caravan markets in Poland and Czechia, underlining their growing importance in the overall European caravanning market.

Caravan segment in decline – significant shift in demand towards motor caravans

The caravan segment recorded around 54,200 new registrations across Europe in 2025, which was around 11 per cent below the previous year’s level. The downward trend continued in most markets. In Germany, 18,766 new caravans were registered (-13.4 per cent), while in the United Kingdom the figure fell by around 19 per cent to approximately 9,250 units.

The only growth was seen in the Netherlands, with more than 7,400 new registrations (+3.4 per cent), and in Poland. At the same time, a clear shift in demand from caravans to motor caravans can be observed in many countries. This structural change is particularly pronounced in the United Kingdom, where the number of newly registered motor caravans in 2025 was around 80 per cent higher than that of caravans.

“The European caravanning industry continues to demonstrate its overall robustness and adaptability in a challenging global political and economic environment. The fact that the 200,000 mark for new registrations has once again been exceeded underlines the continuing appeal of motor caravans and caravans as the preferred form of holiday for many people in Europe. The stable demand for motor caravans, the diverse developments in European markets and the very good visitor numbers at caravanning trade fairs throughout Europe speak for the continuing appeal of this form of holiday. Overall, theannual results for the European caravanning industry are therefore encouraging,” concludes Jost Krüger, Secretary General of the European Caravan Federation.

For further information about caravanning, please visit our web sites:

The European Caravan Federation
www.e-c-f.com

The European Caravan Federation (ECF) is the umbrella organization that represents the interests of the national associations of the European caravan and motor caravan industry. Founded in 1964, the ECF is composed of 12 national organizations, each of which represents the interests of the industrial arm of the caravanning industry in each of the EU member states. The ECF is the lobbying organization for the European caravanning industry in Brussels. In this capacity, the ECF lobbies EU legislators on political, economic, and technical matters that are of concern to ECF members.