Lotus boss prepares for 'hardcore' Chinese caravans

Chinese-built caravans have well and truly arrived, grabbing as much as a 40 per cent share of the local market in a few short years. But the founder of one of Australia's most successful manufacturers of 'hardcore' off-road caravans isn't feeling the heat just yet.

Speaking to caravancampingsales at its modern two-year old Melbourne factory and headquarters this week, Lotus Caravans' boss George Josevski said he's currently more concerned about the flood of newer local manufacturers (some of which sprung up during the pandemic caravan boom), that are capitalizing on Lotus' hard-earned 'tough-nut' reputation with copycat designs, but without the accompanying offroadability and build quality to back it up.

"The difference between us and probably, you know, the manufacturers (that have started up over) the last six to 10 years or so, is that they're not proven. They look good at the shows, but you don't exactly know what happens out in the factory,” he said.

He counts Lotus which he started in 2004 and recently produced its 8000th caravan, among a small number of well-established Victorian and Queensland off-road caravan manufacturers producing "high-end off-road product" that can last the distance.

"Get some of these (so-called off-road, off-grid) 'vans and take the battery system out, the airbags out, and this and that, and they're pretty much (touring) 'vans," he said.

"Accessories are fine, but it's the characteristics and the structure; it's the principle of what you build and can it survive (on Outback corrugations)."

"If a Lotus never leaked, it'd last three generations,” he continued, in recognition of the fact that caravan water leaks remain a major consumer issue and can affect even the best-built 'vans.

“We're now building a 'van to a standard where we don't have to deal with warranties or issues a lot; our 'vans won't fail," he claimed.

"My biggest fear is water. The structural integrity of the van's fine; we conquered this years ago. Do we still have things that can potentially fatigue? Yeah. I think that also comes down to customers' approach to corrugation driving.”

One of the reasons Lotus doesn't yet feel threatened by Chinese-built caravans, is the Melbourne manufacturer currently operates in a premium market segment that the imported brands are yet to fully tackle -- although the warning bells are ringing with the recent launch of the first high-six figure priced imported off-grid 'van down under.

After pumping out around 13 caravans a week during the pandemic boom, Lotus says it's currently averaging around 10 a week, with an estimated half of these retailing close to $200,000.

Wait times for custom-built orders are down to around eight months, with the most popular Trooper model often heading out the door in excess of $200,000 after some pricey customer add-ons including the latest LC Customs designer accessories are factored in.

"Is Asia going to be a threat to the industry? 100%? But are they going to be a threat to the hardcore off-road market? I think so. I think they will grow into it more and more," he said.

Celebrating its 21st anniversary in 2025, Lotus Caravans started off building pop-tops and tourers but later evolved to become a pioneer of the black checker plate, 'tough-road' look, and continues to lead the way as a ‘king of bling’ in Australia's heavyweight off-road caravan market.

Driven by booming local sales of big American pick-ups, most Lotus 'vans sold today boast a fully loaded ATM rating of four tonnes or more, rather than the industry norm of 3500kg, which Josevski said has its pros and cons.

"You're eliminating a buyer with a certain vehicle if you can't offer a 3500kg (capacity)," he said. "But the interesting thing is that Ford's new Super Duty (Ranger), is going to be a much more affordable four and a half tonne tow-er, so that's going to help get more people get into the market for these bigger and heavier 'vans."

It's not all about the tough looks though, he explained, with Lotus also a front-runner in the use of the now popular truss off-road chassis, along with stronger CNC-cut interlocking cabinetry with sturdier locks to prevent drawers from falling out.

"The truss chassis took a lot of the deflection out of the 'vans, which (in turn) eliminated cabinetry failure," he said.

Lotus has so far resisted the latest industry trend of offering multiple body construction options including a full composite build; instead sticking to tried and true timber and now full aluminium frames along with timber flooring, which he said works better off-road and has been refined over years of research and development, testing and owner feedback.

Latest improvements on MY25 Lotus 'vans include a fibreglass ceiling panel with interlocking alloy roof, to prevent sagging, while extensive use of "best in the game" components including premium European exterior panels and locally-made Redarc electrical components, is reflected in the cheapest Lotus now starting from around $120K.

Surprisingly, Josevski said he'd like to roll back modern buyer expectations of full off-grid luxury living, which have contributed significantly to recent dramatic rises in both average caravan weights and prices.

"(Buyers now want) 1000 watts of solar on the roof, not 400; that's a lot of glass panels. They also ask 'Oh, can we run our air-con for 24 to 36 hours straight (off-the-grid)?' It's like, you're not going to be in your 'van for 24 to 30 hours straight!" he said.

"Then there are the external kitchens, toolbox, rear bars... In an ideal world, you'd have an underslung tyre, to take the weight off the rear bar, run toolboxes that are appropriate, eliminate the generator slide, it's 12 kilos, go down to 600-800 amp-hour batteries... Everyone wants everything these days, it's not the 'vans themselves that are built heavier."

Among these latest customer-driven 'must-haves' are Lotus' ever-expanding LC Customs accessories range, manufactured by Melbourne's Boss Aluminium, and which includes everything from an eye-catching rear drag wing and premium entertainment locker to stylish toolboxes and flashy rear platform bars.

"It's mainly on request from the customers. Obviously we try to keep things as light as possible, but the customers always want the next best thing that they've seen on the road,” he said.

“(The LC Custom accessories are) pretty much on every Lotus 'van now, as an option in one form or another. But we don't just build a fancy toolbox and have a few openings and closings and slides. It's getting every single bit out of that part; that's what LC Customs is.”

It appears many Lotus buyers are also unwilling to compromise on interior space, with the most popular body sizes now in the 22ft to 24ft length range, resulting in hefty Tare weights from 3200-3600kg in many cases.

After once offering a compact 14 footer, the smallest Lotus 'van now available is the 18ft 9in Sprint; with roomy double-door layouts and even triple-axle behemoths now available for the fussiest family travellers.

With Lotus in the final stages of the new RV Masters accreditation program, he said there's also been a greater focus on quality control checks since moving into the new factory, which extends to under-chassis final inspections, various water leak tests and Tare/ATM simulations on the factory weigh bridge.

"What's next for us is just focusing (even more) on quality and improvements," he said.

Josevski said it's also helped that a core group of Lotus' 70-odd employees have been with the company almost since the start, although he admits it hasn't all been smooth sailing, with plenty of highs to go with the lows.

"There's a lot of customers we've lost because we probably burnt relationships due to small failures... We don't always get everything right.

"We would have warranty (queries) on nearly almost everything that leaves the factory and probably, when I say that, that's because customers' expectations are (often quite unrealistically high).

"Some (customers) will give you a 70 page list and honestly, you could run through it with them and there'll be three little warranty claims. But we listen to them as well, and we've corrected a lot of things.

"I believe what we pay out (on warranty work) would be smaller than 99.9% of manufacturers today."

"At the end of the day, repeat business is based on, you know, quality product and improvements. You have to remember they're hand built; trying to get everything (manufactured) in a repetitive motion and to a high quality standard is what we continually focus on.

"We've been lucky enough to have had a few good customers that have probably had three or more Lotus vans and they'll often say the best 'van is the last one they've had."

Building up a business with strong brand recognition doesn't always work in your favour though.

“It's funny, sometimes we'll be at a show and a customer is like, 'Yeah, I love everything about the 'van, but all my mates have got a Lotus, so I just want something different.' I swear, you know how frustrating that is?"

Lotus is planning to publicly celebrate its 21st anniversary at Melbourne Leisurefest at the Sandown Racecourse in September, with the launch of a fresh-look 2026 Lotus range set to follow not long after.

"We've got heaps in the pipeline over the next two to three years that we will release slowly," he said.

Josevski is now in his early 40s, with his eldest son Jayden recently joining the business and hopes that his daughter and younger son will also get involved at some stage.

"Yeah, my son's 18 now, he's driving in to work. He's the new generation, and that's why I'm working even harder at trying to fight for my market share. I want the legacy to pass (onto them)," he said.