Something happens in the economy — a conflict, a fuel spike, an energy bill shock, a cost of living squeeze — and within days the same questions start coming in.
What does this mean for motorhome values? Is now a good time to sell or should I wait? Is the market about to fall apart?
I’ve been buying and selling motorhomes through every version of this question for years. We valued over 4,000 motorhomes in 2025 and bought more than 1,000 of them. When economic pressure hits, we see it in real time — in enquiry volumes, in what owners are saying when they call us, in what dealers will and won’t pay.
What I’ve learned is that the headlines and the market reality are almost never the same thing. And the question that actually determines what you should do has very little to do with the economy at all.
How the motorhome market has responded to economic shocks historically
The UK motorhome market has been through several significant economic disruptions in the past decade. Each one generated the same fear. None of them produced the collapse that was predicted.
Brexit (2016 onwards)
The vote to leave the EU in 2016 created widespread uncertainty about the pound, import costs, and consumer confidence. Motorhome prices — many of which involve European-manufactured components or chassis — were expected to suffer.
What actually happened: prices held, then began rising. The market was already on an upward trajectory before Covid arrived, driven by an ageing demographic with disposable income, growing interest from younger buyers, and a steady increase in the appeal of flexible UK travel.
Covid-19 (2020–2021)
This was the genuine outlier — and it went the opposite direction from what most people feared. When overseas travel shut down in March 2020, demand for motorhomes surged. People who had never considered owning one suddenly wanted one.
The numbers were extraordinary. 16,608 new motorhomes were registered in the twelve months to June 2021, an 8.25% increase on the previous record set in 2018–2019, according to the National Caravan Council. Used prices followed suit — vans that had been modestly priced before the pandemic were selling for more than their original purchase price. Insurers were calling owners to demand higher premiums because values had effectively doubled.
Supply couldn’t keep pace. Manufacturers had order books stretching two years into the future. Microchip shortages compounded the problem. By 2021–2022, it was genuinely a sellers’ market in a way the motorhome world had never seen.
The post-Covid correction (2023–2024)
The boom couldn’t last, and it didn’t. As international travel reopened and supply chains recovered, the market normalised. New old stock — brand new 2023 and 2024 motorhomes sitting unsold on forecourts — was heavily discounted, dragging down values in the nearly-new used market.
Owners who had bought at the peak of 2021–2022 prices took losses. Forum discussions filled with stories of vans purchased for close to new prices now selling for £20,000–25,000 less. Headlines called it a crash.
It wasn’t a crash. It was a correction to where the market should always have been. Older vans in good condition continued to sell steadily. The sub-£60,000 price bracket held well. What struggled was the over-inflated, nearly-new segment that had never been priced sustainably in the first place.
The energy crisis and cost-of-living squeeze (2022–2024)
Energy bills more than doubled for many households. Interest rates rose sharply. The cost of living dominated the news for two years. Disposable income was squeezed across the board.
The motorhome market slowed — decisions took longer, private sales became harder, dealers bought more cautiously. But it didn’t collapse. Buyers became more selective and more price-conscious. Condition mattered more than it ever had. Vans that were clean, damp-free and honestly priced continued to move. Vans that needed work or were priced on optimism sat unsold.
Every economic shock produces the same fear and almost never produces the collapse that was predicted. What changes is behaviour — not the fundamentals.
What’s happening in the motorhome market right now
In spring 2026, the economic disruptor is the conflict in the Middle East. US and Israeli military operations against Iran began on 28 February 2026. Iran’s partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz — through which around 20% of the world’s daily oil supply passes — sent fuel prices sharply higher.
UK diesel, which had been stable at around 143p per litre through early 2026, reached 188.5p by 6 April — a rise of nearly 46p in five weeks. Energy bills are forecast to rise again from July 2026. Cornwall Insight’s most recent forecast, published 31 March 2026, projects the Ofgem price cap will increase by approximately £288 per year, bringing the typical annual bill to around £1,929. The official figure will be confirmed by Ofgem on 27 May 2026.
The same pattern we’ve seen before is playing out. Owners are questioning their decisions. The headlines are alarming. The market, so far, is not collapsing.
Our enquiry volumes have held well through March and into April. Buyer demand is being partly supported by the same forces driving the fuel costs — expensive and complicated overseas travel is pushing staycation interest up sharply. UK campsite bookings are running significantly ahead of the same period last year.
There is one nuance worth flagging in the current climate. A-class and tag-axle motorhomes — larger, less fuel-efficient vehicles — were already facing softer demand before February. Rising fuel costs make buyers in that segment more cautious. If you own one of these and are considering selling in the next twelve months, the timing conversation is worth having sooner rather than later.
For panel van conversions and low-profile coachbuilts — the most fuel-efficient and accessible end of the market — demand remains solid.
For more on this topic, watch The UK Motorhome Market Show.
What economic pressure actually does to the market
Based on what we’ve seen across multiple cycles, economic disruption affects the motorhome market in consistent ways. Understanding the pattern helps owners make clearer decisions.
| What happens | What it actually means |
| Enquiry volumes slow | Owners take longer to decide. The pool of active buyers narrows temporarily. Not gone — slower. |
| Dealers buy more cautiously | They reduce risk by tightening buying criteria. Condition and price become more critical than ever. |
| Private selling gets harder | Fewer buyers, more caution, slower decisions. The gap between asking price and offer widens. |
| Certain segments soften | Larger, fuel-heavy vehicles and poorly conditioned vans feel it first and most. Well-presented, fairly priced vans in the right size bracket continue to sell. |
| Headlines predict a crash | They always do. They are almost always wrong. Corrections happen; collapses are rare. |
What doesn’t change in any of these cycles: the underlying reasons people own motorhomes. An ageing UK population with disposable income and a taste for flexible travel. Growing interest from younger buyers. The appeal of a holiday that doesn’t require airports, foreign currency or fixed itineraries. None of that evaporates because diesel costs more.
What depreciation looks like through all of this
Motorhomes depreciate. This is not news, and it doesn’t change based on what’s happening in the economy. What does change is the rate, particularly in the first few years.
Under normal conditions, a new motorhome loses roughly 20% of its value in the first year and around 10–15% per year after that. After three years it typically retains around 70% of its original value — better than most cars, though the comparison is less flattering if you bought at the peak of 2021–2022 pricing.
The owners who feel depreciation most acutely are those who bought at inflated prices during the Covid boom, or who bought nearly-new stock that was competing against heavily discounted new old stock on dealer forecourts. Those are specific circumstances, not the general rule.
For owners who bought sensibly before the boom, at mid-market prices, in good condition — normal depreciation has applied. Economic disruption changes the speed of sale and the ease of the process. It doesn’t fundamentally rewrite the value of a well-maintained motorhome.
“The touring community is resilient. They value the freedom and the unique experiences this pastime provides regardless of the wider global headlines.”
Nikki Nichol, Press Lead, Caravan and Motorhome Club
To sell or not to sell your motorhome – what determines your decision
Here’s what I’ve noticed across every economic cycle. The owners who make good decisions base them on their own circumstances. The owners who make poor ones are reacting to something external — a headline, a forecast, a conversation with someone who sold at the wrong time.
The economy is background noise. Your situation is the signal.
So when people call us during periods like this and ask ‘should I sell’ or ‘should I wait’, the questions I find most useful to ask back are these:
- Am I actually using this motorhome, and do I have real plans to?
- Is it giving me value relative to what it’s costing me to own it?
- Has something changed in my life — health, finances, family, interests — that means my motorhome no longer fits the way it did?
- If I’m honest, am I holding on because I genuinely want to use it, or because I don’t want to make a decision?
If you’re using your motorhome and getting genuine value from it — the economic noise in the background is just that. The market will settle, as it always has. Fuel prices will move, one way or the other. The fundamental case for motorhome ownership doesn’t change because of a conflict in the Middle East or an energy bill that’s gone up.
If you’re not using it — if it’s sitting on the drive or in storage, if the costs are adding up, if life has moved on in some way that means the motorhome is more obligation than pleasure — then an economic wobble isn’t a reason to panic sell. But it might be a sensible prompt to get a clear number, make an honest assessment, and decide on the basis of your situation rather than the headlines.
Getting a valuation doesn’t commit you to anything. It gives you the information to make a real decision.
The honest summary
Economic uncertainty affects the motorhome market. It slows decisions, tightens dealer buying, and makes private selling harder. It occasionally softens specific segments — particularly larger, less efficient vehicles during fuel spikes, and poorly conditioned or over-priced stock in any environment.
What it doesn’t do — has never done — is fundamentally destroy the value of a well-maintained motorhome at a realistic price. The market has absorbed Brexit, a global pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis and multiple fuel shocks. It’s still here. It will absorb whatever comes next.
The decision about whether to keep or sell your motorhome is yours to make. Make it based on your life, not the news cycle.
