Views: 13 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 27-01-2025 Origin: Site
The annual sales of electric loaders exceeded 10,000 units for the first time. The market penetration rate of electric mixer trucks surpassed 50%. The trend of electric mining trucks replacing traditional ones is surging. The market penetration rate of electrified aerial work machinery is over 90%, far ahead of other types of machinery. In 2024, the trend of new energy adoption in construction machinery accelerated further. In scenarios such as engineering construction, building installation, environmental sanitation and waste removal, sand and gravel yards, warehousing and logistics, mining, road construction and maintenance, in - factory transportation, wind power hoisting, port transportation, and short - haul transportation, the electrification of construction machinery is in full swing.
From a global perspective, although the electrification process is still in its initial stage, its development speed and market potential should not be underestimated. Technological advancements, especially breakthroughs in battery technology, motor efficiency, and intelligent control systems, have provided a solid foundation for the electrification of construction machinery. The continuous growth of market demand and continuous product innovation indicate that the electrification of construction machinery will embrace a broader development prospect.
The industry believes that after technological breakthroughs and significant cost - reduction, the electrification penetration rate is expected to reach over 30%, thus opening up a new growth space for the construction machinery industry. "Veteran players" and "new forces" have gained a head - start advantage in the "intelligent and unmanned" direction in the wave of new energy electrification, building a new energy landscape and seizing the commanding heights of the industry chain and supply chain. A more intense electrification competition will unfold in 2025.
The construction solutions of construction machinery are gradually shifting from "manual + mechanical" control operations to centralized management and control of digital and intelligent equipment, which is an important trend in the industry's transformation in 2024.
The core of this transformation lies in the centralized management and control of equipment in operational scenarios, as well as the application of remote equipment operation and unmanned aerial vehicles. Through digital means, the construction machinery industry can reduce energy consumption and emissions, achieve green production, and simultaneously expand innovative application scenarios such as intelligent production, personalized customization, service extension, digital management, and networked collaboration. At the 2024 Bauma China, the development direction of digitalization and intelligence in the construction machinery industry was evident. Many enterprises brought intelligent operation scenarios to the exhibition site, attracting a lot of attention. Zoomlion set up a dynamic display area for small - scale construction scenarios. The equipment was all pure - electric, without a cab, and unmanned. Based on a complete set of self - operating solutions, it could achieve coordinated operations of perception, planning, decision - making, and execution.
The digital and intelligent solutions of construction machinery not only improve operational efficiency and safety but also promote the sustainable development of the industry, depicting an intelligent and digital blueprint for the future of the construction machinery industry.
In 2024, the excavator market saw a turning point, with sales turning from negative to positive. From January to November, the cumulative sales of excavators reached 181,762 units, a year - on - year increase of 1.93%. Domestic sales were 91,231 units, a year - on - year increase of 10.8%. Thanks to the continuous investment in infrastructure construction and the momentum of replacing existing equipment, the sales of excavators increased in fields such as water conservancy, farmland, and mining.
However, the aerial work machinery industry faced negative growth for the first time. In the first nine months of 2024, the cumulative domestic sales of aerial work platforms were 72,000 units, a year - on - year decrease of 34%. The growth rate slowed down significantly and then started to decline sharply. This was mainly due to the high market inventory of aerial work platforms, with production capacity far exceeding the slowing market demand, and the overcapacity problem becoming increasingly prominent. Nevertheless, the overseas market provided new growth space for aerial work platform enterprises, with exports maintaining strong growth.
Judging from the market trends of the two, excavators are expected to enter a new cycle, and the future market will develop steadily. The aerial work platform market has ended the period of "wild growth", and future growth will return to rationality.
According to customs data, from January to November 2024, the export value of China's construction machinery was $47.817 billion, a year - on - year increase of 7.16%.
Chinese construction machinery enterprises have seized the development opportunities in overseas markets, increased foreign investment, and actively explored overseas markets. The proportion of overseas revenue of construction machinery enterprises has continued to rise. From "going global" to "going deep" and then to "going up", they have continuously innovated the international development model and improved the global industrial layout. Internationalization has become a powerful tool for construction machinery enterprises to "weather the industry cycle" and a new engine for enterprise growth.
Facing the sluggish domestic market demand and vicious industry competition, more and more domestic manufacturers are starting to layout overseas markets. The trend of cut - throat competition has gradually spread from the domestic market to overseas markets. When domestic construction machinery goes global, it is necessary to avoid blind and cut - throat competition. High - cost - performance products and technological innovation should be the core competitiveness. If they still rely on low - price strategies and maintain the development model of "emphasizing quantity over quality", blindly seizing overseas markets, it will be difficult to guarantee product performance and after - sales service quality, and even lead to "one - off deals". This will not only result in the loss of hard - won overseas market share but also greatly affect the influence of domestic brands in overseas markets.
In 2024, super projects and super equipment complemented each other, witnessing the technological breakthroughs in the construction machinery industry. Ultra - large - tonnage tower cranes above 20,000 ton - meters were successively launched and put into use, reaching a new height in technology. The 4,000 - ton all - terrain crane, with its excellent performance and technological innovation, has led the global all - terrain crane into a new era.
Moreover, breakthroughs in the research and development of key components such as super - large - diameter slewing bearings and super - large oil cylinders for ultra - large engineering equipment have also become important symbols of the self - control and safety of the supply chain and industrial chain in 2024.
Today, with quality as the core and technological innovation as the internal driving force, not only has the monopoly of foreign high - end brands been broken, and the global competition pattern of the construction machinery industry reshaped, but also industry barriers have been re - erected, interpreting the meaning of high - end quality of Made in China.
From January to November 2024, the cumulative sales of tower cranes were 6,841 units, a year - on - year decrease of 60%. Truck cranes, crawler cranes, and truck - mounted cranes also experienced different degrees of decline.
The slump in the crane market was mainly due to the shrinking market demand. The real estate industry, which is closely tied to tower cranes, encountered a market "cold winter", and there were few newly started infrastructure projects. The industry has shifted from an incremental market to a stock market. A large number of old equipment could not be cleared, and crane sales were difficult to stabilize and rebound.
However, unmanned intelligent construction lifts, mainly used in various construction sites, showed a rising trend. The main reason is that in the general trend of high - end, intelligent, and green development, intelligent lifts are more in line with the development of the times. Compared with traditional manually - operated lifts, they do not require dedicated operators, saving costs. And based on the intelligent operating system, they are safer and more efficient.
Currently, driverless intelligent lifts have been put into use in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, and other places. Their excellent performance in intelligence and safety has been highly recognized by users.
With the increase in global mining investment, the influence of policy factors, and the continuous improvement of the product strength of mining machinery, mining machinery has become the new favorite of the construction machinery industry. It is expected that the mining machinery market will continue to grow in the future. Against this background, major OEMs are constantly researching and manufacturing large - scale and integrated mining machinery, aiming to gain a share in the future mining machinery market.
At the same time, the mining machinery industry is transforming from single - machine to integrated, and the industry's business model is changing from pure manufacturing to a comprehensive model of "equipment manufacturing + service" to obtain better operating benefits. At Bauma China, leading domestic construction machinery enterprises such as Zoomlion, XCMG, and Sany exhibited their large - scale and integrated mining machinery, accelerating the formation of a winner - takes - all pattern.
With the country's digital development strategy and the wave of intelligent development, the application of cutting - edge technologies such as AI and big data in mine construction is accelerating. Industry leaders will be more actively researching and developing intelligent equipment in 2025, exploring the application of clean energy, and adhering to the transformation of the technology route from low - carbon to zero - carbon, empowering the construction of green mines with new - quality productivity.
In 2024, policies for large - scale equipment upgrades were introduced one after another. The release of these policies should have, like huge boulders thrown into a lake, set off huge waves in the construction machinery industry. However, judging from the current market performance, it does not seem to have achieved the expected promotional effect.
After years of development, the equipment inventory of the construction machinery industry has reached a certain scale, and the market saturation is relatively high. Many enterprises and engineering projects may not urgently need large - scale equipment upgrades in the short term. Construction machinery equipment is relatively expensive, and upgrading equipment requires enterprises to invest a large amount of capital. For some enterprises, especially small and medium - sized enterprises, they may face financial pressure and need to weigh the benefits and costs of equipment upgrades. If enterprises expect that future market demand is unstable or insufficient to support the production capacity of new equipment, they may delay the equipment upgrade plan, thus affecting the promotional effect of policies on the industry.
From the perspective of the equipment's own upgrade cycle, many construction machinery equipment has reached the node of a new round of cycle upgrades. The upgrade cycle of mechanical equipment is about eight years. Calculated from the second half of the last upgrade cycle in 2016, the second half of 2024 has reached the starting point of a new round of upgrade cycles. With the gradual elimination and replacement of old equipment, there is expected to be a significant replacement demand in 2025.
With the strong rise of domestic construction machinery brands, the already "competitive" Chinese market has become even more intense. Coupled with the contraction of the Chinese market in recent years, the attitudes of many foreign - funded brands towards the Chinese market have changed. CNH Industrial stopped the sales of construction machinery equipment in the Chinese market. John Deere stopped the sales of complete construction machinery in China. Kato announced the dissolution and liquidation of its Chinese subsidiary.
However, construction machinery parts suppliers are seeking a "new cooperation attitude", improving their understanding of the Chinese market demand, and providing more diverse products and solutions to meet the more multi - dimensional market demand. In September, Yantai Eddie Precision Machinery Co., Ltd. joined hands with Kawasaki Heavy Industries to establish a new company. In November, Liugong and ZF signed an agreement to continue and deepen their joint - venture cooperation. Cummins has even increased its investment in the Chinese market, developing customized products for the Chinese market and benefiting the global market.
As market competition becomes increasingly fierce, OEMs implement a cost - leadership strategy. To pursue cost advantages and seek qualified local suppliers to maintain a stable supply chain is an inevitable way for OEMs to deepen their layout. In the future, foreign - funded brands will surely have to come down from their high horses, adopt an equal - minded attitude, form fair alliances, contribute technology if they have it, and contribute capital if they have it, to jointly face the strong challenges from other competitors.
Now, the construction machinery industry has entered a stock market, characterized by an oversupply of equipment and overcapacity. With the change of market conditions, the construction machinery industry is likely to enter an accelerated elimination period in 2025. It can be predicted that during this elimination process, some enterprises with overcapacity and backward technology in the market will be phased out. Among the eliminated enterprises, those that stubbornly adhere to experience, are not good at innovation, lack strategic determination, have an unhealthy business structure, and lack customer loyalty will be the first to bear the brunt.
Facing the downward industry cycle, overcapacity, and fierce cut - throat competition, construction machinery enterprises must adapt to market changes, continuously innovate and develop, adhere to their strategic positioning, focus on brand building, cultivate customer loyalty, and attract talents if they want to survive in the fierce market competition. Of course, this requires enterprises to always maintain keen insight and adaptability. Although the requirements are very high, only by achieving the above can enterprises survive and develop in the fierce market competition for a long time.
