Motorhomes sales to quadruple in FY23

JCBL,  a leading manufacturer of customised  mobility solutions that includes refrigerated vans, medicals vans, school buses and recreational vehicles such as motorhomes hopes to quadruple its sales of motorhomes in this fiscal to about 200 units thanks to the increasing popularity of caravan tourism.

The company has orders-in hand for 50 units for motorhomes  at present. Rishi Aggarwal, MD, JCBL Group said, " What has worked for us are  motorhomes parks that states like Kerala have developed."

Also called caravan tourism, the motorhomes concept is popular the world over but has never taken off due to lack of  parking infrastructure in the country. However, all that is changing with states like Kerala, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and other tourism-oriented states creating a network of parking spaces and other related amenities, which has led to a boost in demand. A year and a half ago, the Maharashtra government passed a new ‘Caravan Tourism’ policy aims to incentivise tour operators and boost job opportunities for the highly-impacted tours and travel sector. These sectors bore the brunt of Covid as people put their holiday plans on hold.

Maharashtra’s  two-part policy – caravan and caravan parks – is aimed at allowing tourists to enjoy the state’s  natural beauty and other attractions. The law identifies a caravan as a specially-built vehicle used for the purpose of travel, leisure and accommodation, while a caravan park is a place where such vehicles can stay overnight and provide amenities and facilities for tourists.

According to Aggarwal, the bulk of the demand for motorhomes comes tour operators who are being encouraged by state administrations to purchase and offer it on rent to tourists who prefer caravanning. It is in contrast to the earlier times when the orders for such vehicles usually came from individual businessmen, political campaigners during election seasons, wildlife photographers and adventure seekers  looking to explore road travelling while not compromising on luxury and safety. 

Aggarwal explained that motorhomes, though  usually come in two distinct configurations,  two and four seats/sleepers for tourists, they can also be customised. For instance, while some customers may prefer only seaters/ sleepers, others may look for more sleeping space or  entertainment areas within the motorhome. Others  still may want to have the interiors re-designed as  a business class suite. Depending on the level of  customisation, a  motorhome can be cost between Rs 40 lakh and upwards of Rs 5 crore.

JCBL was set up in 1989 and has two plants in Punjab and at Oragadam, near Chennai.