Policy Boosts Accelerate RVs into Ordinary Households
"When the first ray of morning sunlight filters through the car window and shines on my face, I lazily get up to make a cup of coffee, set up an outdoor chair under the awning of the RV, and then quietly gaze at the expanse of greenery. At that moment, both body and mind will experience immense satisfaction. When tired, I can always go back to the vehicle and lie down for a while," recalls Xu Hai (a pseudonym), an outdoor enthusiast, to the reporter during the "Eleventh" holiday period.
It has been Xu Hai's habit to engage in outdoor activities every holiday for many years. "In the past, I would go hiking or cycling around Shanghai every weekend. After injuring my knee, I started traveling more by car. A friend of mine owns an RV, so during holidays, I have the opportunity to join and travel in an RV."
The reporter learned that, like Xu Hai, the number of people who have experienced RV travel in recent years has been increasing. On social media platforms, searching for keywords such as RV and self-driving will reveal many travel bloggers sharing videos of RV travel and life, which also attract considerable attention.
The high-frequency word that appears alongside RVs is "camping." As public interest in the niche yet refined outdoor tourism of "RV + camping" continues to rise, domestic RV sales have also seen a noticeable increase in recent years. Relevant data shows that in 2023, China's cumulative RV sales reached 14,365 units, a year-on-year increase of 22.41%, with the national RV ownership volume reaching approximately 213,400 units.
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Zhang Xiang, a researcher at the Automotive Industry Innovation Research Center of North China University of Technology, told the reporter that the domestic RV market is still in its infancy, as the current ownership volume of domestic RVs is still quite low compared to countries like Europe, America, Japan, and South Korea. "Although the development of domestic RVs started relatively late, the market prospects are still broad. From a broader perspective, the state has introduced multiple favorable policies."
"For example, the 'Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Development of Service Consumption' issued by the State Council not long ago mentioned encouraging the development of new formats such as cruise yachts, RV camping, and low-altitude flying," Zhang Xiang said. "In the past two years, the rapid recovery of the cultural and tourism industry, the combination of 'RV + camping,' can provide a comfortable accommodation environment and also experience the fun of camping, the development is very rapid."
The rapid growth of the market size is inseparable from the rapid development of the camping economy. RV camping, as a leisure activity that combines self-driving tours with outdoor living, has attracted much attention in recent years, with more and more people choosing RV camping during holidays.
RV campsites are built for RV users, providing vehicle supplies and places for people to rest. Data from Zhiyan Consulting shows that the market size of China's RV camping industry has shown a significant trend of fluctuating growth in recent years.
Specifically, the industry market size of China's RV camping grew rapidly from 511 million yuan in 2015 to 3.669 billion yuan in 2018, then slightly declined in 2019 to 3.619 billion yuan. In 2020, under the background of the epidemic, the market size plummeted to 1.832 billion yuan, then rebounded to 3.965 billion yuan in 2021, showing the industry's strong recovery power. As of 2022, the market size has stabilized at 3.713 billion yuan, although it has slightly decreased compared to the previous year, the overall trend remains positive.Against the backdrop of a thriving industry, automobile companies that have laid out their RV business have also achieved remarkable results. Taking SAIC Maxus as an example, it ranks first among domestic RV manufacturers, with four major series - Home-Life, Traveler, Explorer, and RVLIFE - comprising over 50 RV models, covering all categories such as Type B, Type C, pickup RVs, heavy-duty truck RVs, campground trailers, and off-road trailers.
This year, SAIC Maxus has also become the first company in China to reach the scale of ten thousand RVs. A person in charge at SAIC Maxus told the reporter that the company has become the RV brand with the "most comprehensive product matrix" in the industry. It has also been leading the market share of RVs in China for several consecutive years, with a compound annual growth rate of 33.4%, exceeding the industry growth rate by 50%, making it the fastest-growing RV company in terms of sales.
In addition to deeply cultivating the domestic market, SAIC Maxus is also accelerating its layout in the overseas market. The aforementioned person in charge told the reporter that, in terms of going global, SAIC Maxus RVs landed in the developed Australia and New Zealand market as early as 2019, becoming the "earliest Chinese RV brand to export."
Regarding the current changes in consumer preferences for RVs, the person in charge of the RV Lifestyle brand said that in recent years, consumer preferences for RVs have gradually shifted from basic functional needs to a greater emphasis on comfort, safety, and intelligent configurations.
The reporter noticed that due to the relatively high overall landing price of RVs, the RV rental market has shown a strong demand trend. The RV Lifestyle platform currently has more than 2,000 RVs for rental operations, accounting for about 70% of the domestic RV rental market share.
It is worth noting that in the face of the growing market demand for RV rentals, the person in charge of the RV Lifestyle brand told the reporter that the company is also making layouts in multiple dimensions, including improving the nationalized service network and actively absorbing shared RV resources. In addition, the company also attaches great importance to the promotion of RV travel culture, as well as cooperation and exchange with RV upstream and downstream enterprises.
Supporting facilities and services continue to improve
Although the prospects for the domestic RV market are broad, there are also many challenges at this stage, the first of which is the need for improvement in basic supporting facilities. "The infrastructure for RV camping is relatively lacking, and the fees are high, which is not conducive to the development of the RV market. In contrast, some overseas countries with developed RV markets have relatively more RV campsites and they are free," said Zhang Xiang.
The reporter noticed that in order to enhance the experience of RV users, relevant companies are also introducing safeguard measures. The person in charge of the RV Lifestyle brand said that in order to enhance the experience of RV users, the company has taken a number of measures. "First, we continuously update and iterate high-quality RV models to meet consumers' needs for comfort, safety, and family travel. Second, we have established a comprehensive after-sales service system. Currently, there are more than 600 cooperative after-sales service outlets of RV Lifestyle, basically covering the main cities of the country, supporting 7x24-hour roadside assistance services. In addition, we provide 1-on-1 RV travel consultants to ensure that users can get timely and effective solutions to any problems they encounter during the use of the vehicle. We also provide users with a wealth of RV travel information and strategies through the App community channel and self-media channels such as Xiaohongshu and public accounts, helping users better plan and enjoy RV travel."
Regarding future development trends, Zhang Xiang believes that electrification and intelligence are definitely the big trends for RVs, but the electrification and intelligence of the RV industry are relatively slow at present, and many RVs are still mainly powered by fuel. "Automobile companies with RV business need to accelerate the layout, because there are many electric intelligent large SUVs or MPVs on the market that have already done very well in the 'family travel' segment."Recreational vehicle (RV) companies are also accelerating their layout in electric and intelligent mobility. Taking SAIC Maxus as an example, a person in charge from SAIC Maxus told reporters: "In terms of RV intelligence and new energy, SAIC Maxus RVs have demonstrated a forward-looking layout and significant advantages."
Reporters learned that in terms of RV intelligence, SAIC Maxus RVs are equipped with an advanced ADAS 2.0 system, including Super Cruise ICC (0-120km/h, automatic curve following), LKA lane keeping assistance, IHC automatic high/low beam headlights, etc.
In addition, SAIC Maxus RVs have introduced the "RV Butler" intelligent interconnection system, allowing users to control various facilities inside the RV through voice control or a mobile app, such as locking/unlocking doors, checking battery levels, and monitoring the water levels in the fresh and grey water tanks.
Faced with industry competition, the person in charge from SAIC Maxus told reporters: "In the face of intensifying competition in the RV market, continuous innovation, improving service systems, and expanding market channels are all important ways for SAIC Maxus RVs to actively maintain a leading position in the market."
The development of new business formats such as RV camping is accelerating.
With increased external attention, the development of RVs continues to receive favorable policy support. In 2021, the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Tourism Industry" proposed to promote self-driving RV tourism, implement a self-driving tour promotion plan, form a networked service system for campsites, and establish a relatively complete self-driving RV tourism industry chain, launching a batch of self-driving RV campsites and tourist stations.
In addition, the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Development of the Automotive Aftermarket" issued in 2023 mentioned supporting the construction of self-driving RV campsites, strengthening policy support, and promoting the development of RV tourism consumption. In August of this year, the State Council issued the "Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Development of Service Consumption," which called for the integration of business, travel, culture, and sports, enhancing project experience and interactivity, launching a variety of characteristic tourism products, and encouraging the development of new business formats such as cruise yachts, RV camping, and low-altitude flying.
Regarding the positive impact of the favorable policies for RVs this year, the person in charge from SAIC Maxus told reporters: "The State Council's policy clearly encourages the development of new business formats such as RV camping, providing strong policy support and market orientation for the RV market."
The aforementioned person in charge said that under policy protection, with the increasing demand for personalized and diversified tourism experiences from consumers, RV camping, as a new lifestyle that integrates travel, leisure, and entertainment, is gradually becoming a new favorite in the tourism market.
It is worth noting that although the development prospects for RVs are broad, the process is tortuous. In the first half of this year, RV sales were affected. Public data shows that from January to June 2024, except for a year-on-year increase in sales in January, there was a year-on-year decline for five consecutive months from February to June. As of June 2024, a total of 5,945 self-driving RVs were sold domestically, a decrease of 22.85% compared to the same period in 2023 (7,706 units).The person in charge of SAIC Maxus told the reporter: "The overall consumption environment, market demand diversity, improvement of industry standards and regulations, consumer awareness, market competition, and the phenomenon of involution are all factors that affect the changes in the RV market. Currently, RV market consumers are increasingly pursuing high-quality and personalized travel experiences, focusing on the performance and configuration of RVs, especially intelligent and automated facilities and green environmental protection materials. Especially the rise of young people and the retired community has promoted the diversified development of the RV market."
"As people's living standards improve and travel concepts change, RVs, as a personalized and free travel lifestyle, will be more and more favored by consumers." The person in charge of the RV Lifestyle brand said, "We will continue to improve the RV rental business, expand the fleet size, and improve service quality. At the same time, we have expanded related businesses such as RV sales, campground construction, and travel product development, forming a complete RV industry chain, and continuously improving the services provided by the one-stop platform for RV life. We will also strengthen cooperation and exchanges with domestic and foreign RV companies to jointly promote the prosperity and development of the RV market."