50,000th T5 California camper van made

IT’S the camper van that many of us adventurers lust after and the latest version, the California T5, has just reached a production record of 50,000.

It means the California is now the most popular and best-selling camper van in its class. VW says is is making 8,100 of them this year alone – a production record. Production figures for the T3 version totalled 22,000 and 39,000 for the California T4.

VW factories are now working two-shifts a day in order to meet the high level of demand from those seeking an everyday vehicle that can easily turn into a home from home for days out, weekend escapes or longer adventures.

The photo above shows staff at the factory in Hanover alongside the freshly-built  50,000th model – and it’s a California SE in Natural Grey with a 2.0 TDI 140PS BlueMotion Technology engine featuring a 7-speed DSG transmission.

The camper van will be on show at this year’s Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf (30 August to 7 September) on the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles stand.

The California comes as either the Beach or the SE (known as the Comfortline outside the UK).  To date, 13,000 of the 50,000 are California Beaches and 37,000 are California SEs.

Volkswagen is the only vehicle manufacturer to produce its own camper van.