Chinese Take to Open Road in RVs

Land Crusers: Chinese drivers awaken to the comforts of taking to the open road in RVs

China is poised for growth in the adoption of recreational vehicles as more of China’s drivers discover cross-country road trips. The government is helping the trend by encouraging local governments to open up campgrounds and sightseeing areas.

At the moment only 5,000 RVs are registered in all of China. By contrast about 8 million American families own at least one RV, and about 350,000 are being sold each year, less than the record 400,000 sold in 2006.

RVs cost around 200,000 to 500,000 yuan ($30,894 to $77,235) for a domestic models. Imports cost 1 million yuan ($154,470) or more. The average RV imported from the U.S. costs upwards of 1.5 million yuan ($231,700) while the average RV sold in the U.S. runs about $200,000.

In an effort to encourage more tourism, last year Beijing made plans to install RV camps in 10 surrounding suburban areas and counties. Thirty such camps have already been built in China. But so far hurdles like the difficulty of the licensing exam for driving an RV, the lack of rest areas and the high price of highway tolls have kept RVs from catching on in China.

China’s top domestic RV maker is Zhong Tian RVs which produces 200 to 300 RVs a year, according to its manager Ma Xuelian, 29. Many imported RVs do not meet Chinese regulations and must be retrofitted to conform to national standards, noted Ma. For example, Chinese regulations forbid RVs from carrying natural gas for cooking on board vehicles. RVs from the U.S. are equipped with 110-volt outlets that aren’t compatible with Chinese appliances.

To get around the tough RV driver’s license exam, some domestic RVs are built to be shorter than the 6-meter cutoff for requiring a different class of license, says Ma.

“We build our RVs to about 5 meters long, so our owners do not have to test for a special license,” says Ma.

Still the surge in travel among the growing number of affluent middle-class families is expected to boost demand for RVs as an alternative to spending money on expensive hotels. Sales are expected to reach about 1,000 units this year.