A lot happened in the motorhome world last week: in China, sleeping in cars and camper vans has become so common that hotel revenue in the first week of the holidays fell by 8.2%; Nissan showed an electric camper van with a 410 km range for €89,900; Llandudno in Wales and Arraial do Cabo in Brazil almost simultaneously banned overnight stays in motorhomes in their centres; and a 90-year-old American woman spent three months in a motorhome and turned out to be tougher than her own daughter.
The main things from last week
- In China, during the first week of the summer holidays, hotel revenue fell by 8.2% in the budget segment and by 7.8% in the mid-range — people are sleeping in cars and camper vans; in 2025 the country registered 13,258 motorhomes and 7,376 caravans, 85.61% more than a year earlier.
- Nissan, together with Germany's Eifelland, unveiled the electric Interstar-e Relax camper van: an 87 kWh battery, up to 410 km of range, heating that runs off the drive battery with no external power, priced at €89,900.
- In Unnan (Shimane Prefecture, Japan) a new RV park at a roadside station has been certified — 4 pitches at ¥3,500 a night — and on 19 September the Hinoyama Sanroku campsite with views of the Kanmon Strait opens in Shimonoseki.
- Conwy County Council has proposed banning motorhomes from staying overnight on Abbey Road in Llandudno, Wales, from midnight to 8 a.m. — objections are accepted until 28 August 2026.
- Athenree Hot Springs and Holiday Park has been named New Zealand's best holiday park of 2026: it was bought in 2020 by two geologists who had never worked in tourism before.
Sleeping in cars has gone mainstream in China — and hotels have felt it
Usually the "motorhome versus hotel" argument stays an internet conversation: too few people travel by camper van for it to show up in anyone's revenue. In China that line is gone. In the first week of the summer holidays, Chinese hotel revenue fell in two segments at once — 8.2% in the budget segment and 7.8% in the mid-range — and one of the main reasons given is the rise in people sleeping right in their cars. This is not only about camper vans: China has a popular format called "chuangche" (床车) — an ordinary minivan or crossover in which the rear seats fold down into a bed, and an electric car can also run the air conditioning all night off its drive battery.
What this looks like on the ground is clear in Delingha, a city on the popular Qinghai–Gansu tourist route: travellers sleep in hotel car parks, using the toilets and water but not booking a room. One hotel manager says outright that it is hurting the business. The scale shows up in the statistics: in 2025 the country registered 13,258 motorhomes and 7,376 travel caravans — 85.61% more than a year earlier. Demand is also being driven by unexpected things: after the film "North of the Tropic of Cancer" came out, viewers headed to the filming locations in rented motorhomes, and in the Hotan area of Xinjiang tourist numbers grew by 14.53% while tourist spending rose 16.07%, to 5.25 billion yuan.
The money followed. Squirrel Power, a startup founded by a former Anker executive, raised more than 200 million yuan for its "smart" Evotrex-PG5 caravan — launching in 2027, priced from $120,000. And Stelato, part of the alliance around Huawei, showed the G9 SUV with a roof tent that unfolds at the push of a button, at roughly $74,000. In other words, both ends of the market are growing in China at once: cheap nights in your own car at the bottom, factory-built camper vans at the top. Europe went through something similar after the pandemic, but there it took five years, not eighteen months.
What this means for you
If you travel around Europe and like sleeping in the car parks of hotels, shops and petrol stations, take a look at what is happening in China: as soon as there are a lot of such vehicles, the spots close rather than expand. Don't use the toilet and water of a business you haven't spent a penny at: that is what makes owners install barriers first. If you are choosing a vehicle, look at the "bed in an ordinary car" format: it costs far less than a camper van, and in summer with an electric car it gives you what previously only a motorhome with air conditioning and a generator could. If you have an electric car, check in advance whether it can power household appliances — without that feature, a night in the heat becomes a choice between sleep and range. And if you are planning a trip to China, expect the niche to be crowded already: popular car parks on tourist routes fill up in the evening.
In brief
- Germany, electric camper vans: Nissan and Eifelland presented the Interstar-e Relax for €89,900 — an 87 kWh battery, up to 410 km of range, a 1.9×1.6 m bed, a 90 l fridge, and a heater powered by the drive battery. The important part here isn't the range, it's that the vehicle no longer needs a separate leisure battery.
- Slovenia, update: Adria has completely redesigned the much-loved Twin — a new interior built around a Cabin-Loft concept, a panoramic window, the Select range from €56,990 and Supreme from €63,290.
- Germany, budget segment: Dethleffs has launched the Just Van range to replace the Globebus Camp — the 6.98 m T5 model on a Fiat Ducatoⓘ with a 150 Ah lithium battery as standard starts at €64,999, cheaper than its predecessor. It's rare for a new generation to arrive with a lower price.
- Germany, hardware: Pössl has announced the Summit Shine 640 R Evo with an electric drop-down bed and a modular bathroom, from €59,999.
- Italy, premieres: Laika showed the Ecovip Evoluzione based on the Fiat Ducato — automatic gearbox and a lithium battery, priced from €73,990.
- Germany, show: Caravan Salon 2026 runs in Düsseldorf from 28 August to 6 September: around 800 exhibitors in 15 halls, tickets €18 on weekdays, €20 at weekends and €39 on opening day. Almost all of this week's new models will be shown there.
- Spain, infrastructure: Almería has commissioned the design of its first large motorhome area next to Andarax park — three plots totalling 4,096 m² with water, electricity, video surveillance and entry control.
- Spain, north: the government of Cantabria has put a car park in Liérganes out to tender — 27 pitches, around €600,000, eight months of construction after the contract is signed.
- Germany, light caravans: a German company has presented a camper trailer that unfolds in two minutes and is light enough to be towed even by a small electric car; no price yet.
- USA, industry: the RVIA team discussed industry priorities with legislators from 40 states at the Legislative Summit in Chicago, bringing along a Winnebagoⓘ 22RBS Thrive caravan.
- USA, generations: a survey found that younger travellers choose campsites for the company, not to save money: 43% stay in touch with people they met on the trip, and 75% call camping their "third place". The nearest excuse to go: free entry to national parks on 25 August.
- Russia, market: the Xingyu Dongfeng Xiaokang 2026 motorhome has gone on sale for 3,509,000 roubles, ready to drive on a standard category B licence.
Where to go
Western Japan, September–October. Japan rarely makes lists of motorhome destinations: it seems cramped, expensive and booked out in advance. But right now the country is steadily building out its network of pitches, and autumn is a good time to use it. The Japan RV Association has certified a new RV park in the city of Unnan in Shimane Prefecture — only four pitches at ¥3,500 a night, but with facilities and in a handy spot for trips to the great Izumo shrine and to Matsue. Further along the coast, in Shimonoseki, the Hinoyama Sanroku campsite opens on 19 September — 22 pitches with views of the Kanmon Strait, from ¥3,300 to ¥5,500 a night. Between them is about a day's drive along the Sea of Japan, and that makes a ready-made autumn route: September takes away the summer humidity, October adds maple leaves, and by then the Japanese holiday peak has passed. It suits a couple in a compact camper van — the roads in Shimane are narrow and pitches are counted in single figures, not dozens. If you have been eyeing Japan for a while but couldn't see how to go there without hotels, start with these two stops.
Be careful
- Wales and Brazil, the coming weeks: Conwy County Council has proposed banning motorhomes from staying overnight on Abbey Road in Llandudno from midnight to 8 a.m., and in Arraial do Cabo in Brazil motorhomes will not be allowed to stay in the municipal car park from 1 September — arrivals will be checked at a control point by the Portico and let through only with a campsite booking. If your route goes through these towns, find a place to stay in advance; in Llandudno objections to the proposal are accepted until 28 August, and this is a case where your voice can still be heard.
- Netherlands, Canada, Portugal, natural hazards: on the Dutch–German border a forest fire destroyed 21 hectares and forced the evacuation of a campsite with 300 holidaymakers; in Canada's Bear Creek Park campers calmly carried on with their holiday six kilometres from a fire covering 1,139 hectares, with 2,648 properties under evacuation orders; and on the Portuguese island of Terceira 67 people were taken out of a campsite because of severe weather. Don't count on being warned: sign up for local emergency alerts before entering a region and keep a second way out of the site in mind.
- Netherlands, South Korea, fires at storage yards: in Almkerk eight camper vans burned in a single evening at a storage yard, and in Cheonan, South Korea, a fire at a camper van factory destroyed eight vehicles and 458 m² of the workshop. If you leave your vehicle in winter or seasonal storage, ask the yard about the distance between rows and whether there are fire lanes, and check whether your policy covers damage from a fire that spreads from a neighbouring vehicle — that is a separate clause, and it isn't in every policy.
- Germany, thefts: in Germering near Munich a motorhome worth about €40,000 was stolen straight off a city street, some time between 3 and 8 August. For comparison, an owner from Stolberg-Breinig got his caravan back because it had a GPS tracker in it: the vehicle was stopped in Belgium and two people were detained. Fit a hidden tracker with its own power supply and a mechanical hitch lock — together they cost less than one lost holiday.
Something good to finish
Two stories worth forwarding.
Three months in a motorhome with a mother who is ninety. An American woman set off on a long trip with her 90-year-old mother Margie and expected to be helping her the whole time. It turned out the other way round: her mother got up earlier than everyone, went for walks and handled the driving days easily, while the daughter kept catching herself getting tired first. Usually stories like this say "despite her age" — here it was "because of it": life in a small space with a simple routine turned out to be more comfortable for a ninety-year-old than a flat.
Two geologists and the country's best park. Athenree Hot Springs and Holiday Park in New Zealand has been named the best holiday park of 2026. It was bought in 2020 by two geologists with no connection to tourism at all — and they won not through spending on facilities but through what New Zealanders call manaakitanga: hospitality as the host's duty to the guest. It's nice when the industry's top award goes not to a new swimming pool but to how people are spoken to at the gate.
This week's questions
Why has sleeping in cars in China hit hotels so hard?
It's a matter of scale. China has a popular format called "chuangche" — an ordinary car with the rear seats folded down instead of a bed, and an electric car can also run the air conditioning all night off the drive battery. When hundreds of thousands of people travel that way, it shows up in revenue: in the first week of the summer holidays hotel revenue fell by 8.2% in the budget segment and 7.8% in the mid-range. At the same time the "real" market is growing: in 2025 the country registered 13,258 motorhomes and 7,376 caravans — 85.61% more than a year earlier.
What should you do if a forest fire starts near your campsite?
Don't wait to be warned. The story of Bear Creek Park in Canada says it all: people were calmly on holiday six kilometres from a fire that had already covered 1,139 hectares, and simply knew nothing about it. Before entering a forested region, sign up for local emergency alerts; when you arrive at a site, check whether there is a second way out; and keep your tank at least half full. You should be able to pack in five minutes, not an hour: documents, keys, phones, medicines, money — nothing else is worth the risk.
When is the best time to take a motorhome to Japan?
September and October. The summer humidity drops, the Japanese holiday peak passes, and the autumn maples on the west coast are the main reason to go then. Newly opened: the RV park at the roadside station in Unnan (Shimane Prefecture) with four pitches at ¥3,500 a night, and the Hinoyama Sanroku campsite in Shimonoseki, which opens on 19 September — 22 pitches with views of the Kanmon Strait, from ¥3,300 to ¥5,500. Bear in mind that sites in Japan are tiny: four to twenty pitches, not a hundred, so book ahead and take a compact vehicle.
Is it true that an electric camper van can already do without a leisure battery?
On the newest models, yes, and the Nissan Interstar-e Relax shows it: the heater and the household equipment run off the 87 kWh drive battery, and no separate battery is needed for the living area. Range is up to 410 km, the price is €89,900, and the vehicle can tow up to two tonnes. The obvious caveat: everything you use while parked is kilometres you won't drive tomorrow, so on a cold night plan your charging rather than hoping the remaining charge will do.
Is it worth fitting a GPS tracker to a motorhome or caravan?
It is, and last week proved it literally: an owner from Stolberg-Breinig happened to spot his stolen caravan on the road, tracked it, and the vehicle was stopped in Belgium — two people were detained. Meanwhile in Germering near Munich a €40,000 motorhome was stolen from a parking spot and is still missing. Get a tracker with its own power supply and hide it so that it doesn't switch off along with the vehicle's electrics, and add a mechanical hitch lock to a caravan — a thief looks for something he can take away quickly and quietly.
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