Victoria is on track to become the world’s manufacturing capital of a new age of electric caravans, which can be used to charge cars and power entire houses, saving people thousands in power bills.

The state’s booming caravan industry, which produces about 93 per cent of Australia’s 30,000 caravans each year, has emerged as a world leader in the electrification of caravans and RVs expected to dominate the sector within the next decade.

A new revolutionary electric chassis for caravans was built in Victoria by OzXcorp co-founder Andrew Huett, who said the technology would “change the way caravans are used”. He explained that it allows people to charge their cars and power their houses by plugging into their caravans.

“It’s the best of both worlds because you transfer an asset that would normally be stuck against the wall of a house into your trailer or caravan,” he said. “People don’t trust the grid anymore. I think energy resilience is what people are really seeking because when the grid goes down they’re not affected. More importantly, it gives people the freedom to choose where you want to go tomorrow without being reliant on power from the grid.”

Since 2018, more than 30 caravan brands across Australia have adopted the technology, which includes up to 15 solar panels on the caravan roof and a lithium battery. An ERV caravan built with OzXcorp’s technology is priced from $109,000.

Myrtleford mother Michelle Nowicki, who owns a caravan with Mr Huett’s technology, said she had saved more than $4000 a year by using it to power her house. “When we’re home we plug the caravan in to power our tools, for our meals and all of our power in general,” she said. “It’s so mobile that if you want to go out and about you can take it with you and then come back and plug it back in and it’s like being in a normal house again.”

This innovation comes as average energy prices in Victoria have risen by about 25 per cent in the last two years.

Daniel Sahlberg, chief executive of Caravan Industry Victoria, said the electrification of caravans was an important part of the industry’s growth. “Our industry for a long time has been leading the pack and there’s a lot of opportunities with our technology to advance and evolve,” he said.

This shift comes as Victoria’s caravan industry continues to grow at a rapid rate and has now become bigger than what the state’s once-powerful car industry was. The sector received a major boost in 2015 through the establishment of the National Training College in Melbourne, where students and workers learn caravan-specific courses that have helped create a strong pathway into the industry.

“Now we’ve got a national framework where we can upskill existing employees and also create a funnel into our industry to get employees,” Mr Sahlberg said.

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