New trend of ‘car-camping’ in China, high-tech EVs become ‘bedrooms’: Youth are saving hotel expenses; TV, kitchen and AC in vehicles with V2L technology

There has been a surge in sales of custom-fitted mattresses for cars, car-back tents, outdoor cinema projectors and foldable kitchen kits. – Symbolic photo

Amidst the economic slowdown in China, youth are considering car-camping on weekends as a cheap and exciting option instead of expensive foreign tours or 5-star hotels. This trend has given rise to a new multi-billion dollar camping economy in China.

Budget-conscious Chinese tourists are now turning high-tech EVs into ‘mobile bedrooms on wheels’ and going car-camping instead of paying hefty hotel fares.

Junya Zhen and Ji Cui, a couple from Hebei province in northern China, left their teaching jobs in the year 2023 and set out on a journey across the country. The couple spends months sleeping and traveling in their ‘Wei Lanshan’, a hybrid SUV from Chinese carmaker Great Wall Motors. They also share their unique road-trip and car-camping adventures on social media. During the day the pair is constantly on the move. They livestream while driving, make lunch on the way and take a nap with the car’s back seats folded completely flat into comfortable beds. His journey spanned from the popular tourist destination of Yunnan province in south-west China to the remote and isolated areas of nearby Tibet. People are very fond of his lifestyle. This couple has more than 5.7 lakh followers on China’s Instagram and TikTok platforms ‘Xiaohongshu’ and ‘Douyin’.

This rapidly growing culture in China has not only created an alternative to expensive hotels, but has also established a new selling point for the sale of vehicles in the automobile sector. Chinese EV manufacturing companies like BYD, Li Auto, Nio, Xpeng are offering V to L (Vehicle-to-Load) feature in their cars. Due to this, the large battery of the vehicle works like a huge power bank. Car owners can easily run induction cooktops, coffee makers, mini-fridges, projectors and electric grills from their EV’s battery.

Sales of car tents, custom mattresses and outdoor cinemas surge.

With the help of dedicated ‘camping mode’ and huge batteries found in electronics vehicles, it has become possible to use the AC and heater overnight without running the engine. This trend has created a whole new ecosystem. Sales of custom-fit mattresses for cars, car rear tents, outdoor cinema projectors and foldable kitchen kits have surged. Now cars in China are not being sold just on the basis of range or speed, but on how helpful they are in ‘lifestyle and adventure’. Chinese EV companies are making this “car-camping” culture a core part of their advertisements.

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