All popular caravan tow cars in a row
Among all caravan owners in the Netherlands, the Mazda CX-5 is the car that most often pulls a caravan, but the Ford Kuga is breathing down its neck. The plug-in hybrid saw a huge rise in popularity last year, as it was the best-selling tow car of the past year. In this article, you can read which other cars perform well as caravan tow cars.
The reason the Kuga, with its plug-in hybrid drivetrain, is so popular among caravan owners is its permitted towing weight: a hefty 2,100 kilograms. Almost 24 percent of caravan owners chose the Ford Kuga as their new car last year, according to the annual Tow Car survey by camping specialist ACSI. One of its strongest points is the enormous pulling power of the 2.5-liter plug-in hybrid.
The ACSI Tow Car survey was conducted among nearly five thousand Dutch caravan owners. Due to its enormous popularity, the model now competes with the Mazda CX-5 in terms of overall popularity. Slightly more than 7.5 percent of all caravan owners own a CX-5, while over 6 percent now own a Kuga.
Entire top 10 consists of SUVs
The Mazda has been at the top of the ranking for eight consecutive years. With 4.5 percent, the Volkswagen Tiguan completes the top 3, while the entire top 10, just like last year, consists of SUV models. At a considerable distance from Ford, Volkswagen and Mazda were respectively numbers 2 and 3 on the list of new cars sold to caravan owners in 2025.
Volvo most popular brand
Despite the dominance of the three models from Ford, Mazda, and Volkswagen, it is Volvo as a brand that has the largest following among Dutch caravan owners. About 13 percent of them use a car from the Swedish manufacturer to tow their caravan.
In contrast to the competition, several Volvo models are popular, particularly the XC60 and XC40 SUVs and the V60 station wagon. Since 2022, the Swedes have been leading as the most popular brand among caravan owners.
Electrification of caravan tow cars continues
The electrification of the vehicle fleet continues unabated among caravan tow cars. Especially plug-in hybrids are gaining ground: in five years, their share rose from 2.6 to no less than 16.4 percent. Self-charging hybrids and mild hybrids are also strongly represented, accounting for 12.4 percent of sales combined.
Fully electric cars remain less popular among caravan owners for now, although growth is visible: their market share increased from 1.1 percent in 2024 to 1.8 percent in 2025. This reluctance has clear causes. A large majority (73.8 percent) cites the limited range with a caravan as the biggest drawback.
Unhitching caravan during charging
The high purchase price also plays an important role (44.1 percent), as does the lack of suitable charging points for a car-caravan combination (31.1 percent). Especially the fact that the caravan often has to be unhitched during charging is a significant factor.
Furthermore, almost three out of ten (29.4 percent) doubt the lifespan and wear resistance of the battery. It is striking that almost one in five caravan owners (22 percent) have no confidence in electric cars at all.