Buying an RV In China? Tips

Visited RV sales in Shanghai Haibo Junyi Automobile Sales Co., Ltd.

This time we visited motor-home sales and checked out some models and prices. Here sales included different manufacturers and also camping trailers. Motor homes are primarily made in Chinese with chassis from Iveco or Maxus, and camping trailers are 50/50 local vs. imported. We are not going to go thru technically the motor homes or trailers, and if there is interest, we can share contact information.

This is the latest one with the extensions both rear and side. The maximum length for RV in China is 6m; therefore, innovation is vital. Typically these RVs are 5990mm in length, and this way, when parked, you can get additional space inside by extending the flanks.

Buying an RV In China? Motor-home/RV

For the more expensive ones, there is a side and rear extension (flank) available. Also for the added price: bigger engine, solar power, better and more functional kitchen, and washing machine. Most of the frames I have seen have been either IVECO or Maxus. I prefer Iveco as it has more power, and the automatic gear works great. On the Maxus, the gear shift is very laggy, and the driving is not so smooth.

What is included depends on the model and, of course, the price.

All the locally made motor home exterior looks like coming from the same factory, and internally, the most significant difference is how the bed arrangement.

Prizes vary from 360k CNY to 690k CNY (55k USD- 110k USD). The camping culture with RV is somehow limited based on whether you live in the city and where to keep it. Parking space price could be measured in gold.

Longer holidays are not so common, except for the Chinese New Year. During that time, the highways are packed with millions of travelers getting home simultaneously. I’m not joking. In the worst case, you could get stuck for half day in some traffic jam. Meanwhile, the lack of well-equipped camping grounds stops people’s interest in traveling by RV. Last is that compare the price with the average income. It is high-end traveling. Check out the campgrounds that we have been to.

Shanghai Haibo Junyi Automobile Sales Co., Ltd. This is not a campground but more or less selling of the RV and caravans. Some private persons also use this place for parking the caravan

As we can see, many manufacturers in China for motor homes exist. These are only the biggest ones. Difficult to find information about the small ones.

There are some excellent Chinese apps, and we have collected some information about them on our pages.

Below are some of the brands that I have seen in China, including domestically produced, imported, and licensed/joint ventures made

RV/motor homes

• Maxus is one of the big ones and has an extensive rental network.
  • This one we have experienced, and the quality and internal layout are good.
• Yutong is one of the more famous local brands.
• Iveco, used by many local suppliers
• Ford, smaller RVs
• REV, using one of the above chassis
• Tiande RV, either Iveco or Maxus chassis

Some of the biggest rentals in the link

Caravans

• Yutong RV is one of the more famous local brands. built-in China
• Forest River imported
• Eazy Trail, off-road trailer, built-in China
• Hobby, imported
• Landhaus, imported
• MIY (this was our brand during the Inner Mongolia trip) made in China

Overview of the RV Market in China

Buying an RV In China. China’s RV market has undergone significant changes over the past several years, including a national focus on developing tourism, campgrounds, and the RV industry. With a growing demand for RVs and a shift in consumers’ travel preferences, tourism experts in China anticipate a surge in RV-related business in the coming years. More people are exploring the countryside and hitting the roads with recreational vehicles.
China’s domestic RV market is in the early stages of development. By the end of 2016, Chinese consumers purchased an estimated 25,000 RVs; this number could reach 500,000 by 2020 as China’s growing economy and rising middle class continue to energize an increasing demand for leisure-related goods and activities, such as RVs and RV camping.2

Buying an RV In China. it has 56 active RV manufacturers. Chinese manufacturers offer a variety of products, from towable RVs to motorhomes. Domestically produced RVs dominate the marketplace, accounting for most of the overall RV sales.

Despite the growing popularity and demand for RVs, China lacks available campgrounds. In 2014, China had around 200 campgrounds nationwide. In August 2015, the State Council established 1,000 RV campgrounds 2020 nationwide as part of China’s 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020). From there, we can see significant increase years 2016-2019; the numbers rise from 958 to 1778 campgrounds. However, the lack of an adequate RV infrastructure has led to the unrealized need for downstream goods and services by RV travelers (e.g., camping equipment, clothing, gasoline, food, etc.).

The growth of the RV industry has also been hampered by the lack of standards and a regulatory framework governing the manufacture and use of RVs. Although some government agencies have adopted rules and regulations for RVs, these are not uniform across agencies. Also, existing standards and regulations are commonly based on motor vehicle-related standards without regard to the unique characteristics of RVs.

State Council, China’s cabinet has announced the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), promoting inbound tourism. The country has pledged to improve services to provide more convenience for foreign travelers by optimizing self-driving trips, customs clearance, financial payments, internet services, and signs in various languages.

Even some caravans for sale have not seen many of them on the road. In the Shanghai area, maybe a couple of times. Where do all of them go?

If you find it, renting a caravan and driving in China is possible. The needed driving license type is C1. The new regulation after 1st April 2022 is that you must have a C6 license for towing a caravan. Our review of the Chinese MIY MYY9012XLJ03 caravan. Check our Shanghai-Inner Mongolia trip with it.

The Pacific Coach Works caravan this price was in the 130k range, and it is imported. A minor issue you need to check is what type of hook you should install on your car, as there is no standard hook regulation, and caravans are imported from many countries with different towing arrangements.

The most limiting the RV’s size is the maximum allowed length. I understood a maximum; of 6m; therefore, all RVs are 5.99m long. I have seen some mini-buses for sale on the internet whose total length would be longer, but the question is, are they legal?

We are not looking to buy one, but for rental. They also had some privately owned RVs at this place, and we were looking at one fully equipped with a short-time rental price of 1200-1600CNY/day. I think the price could be negotiated if renting for a more extended period.

If you want the contact information, please send an email to: info(@)crisscrosschina.com