Entering 2025, China’s construction machinery industry will continue to pick up momentum.
With the multiple benefits of policies to stabilize growth, intensive construction of major projects, concentrated demand for equipment updates, and active overseas orders, the sales of the industry’s main products are booming across the board.
In particular, new energy engineering machinery represented by electric loaders has suddenly emerged, with sales and exports both increasing sharply.
High-end, intelligent, and green are accelerating from concepts to industrial reality, and a more valuable growth path is gradually becoming clear.
Core products have increased both internally and externally, and industry prosperity continues to rise
Data from the China Construction Machinery Industry Association shows that from January to May this year, sales of major products in my country’s construction machinery industry were booming across the board.
The cumulative sales of excavators were 126,875 units, a year-on-year increase of 24.7%; the sales of loaders were 67,162 units, a year-on-year increase of 27.3%.
The two core products have achieved double-digit growth both domestically and exported, and industry prosperity continues to rise.
In the domestic market, demand is showing a real recovery trend.
On the one hand, the country continues to make efforts in major infrastructure, urban renewal, water conservancy projects and other fields, and the project start rate and investment completion rate have steadily increased, directly driving the demand for earthmoving machinery procurement.
On the other hand, the implementation of large-scale equipment renewal policies has accelerated, and a large number of old machinery has entered the elimination and replacement cycle, injecting considerable increment.
In the context of stricter construction environmental protection standards and higher requirements for operating efficiency, customers are more inclined to purchase new intelligent energy-saving equipment, further stimulating market vitality.
In terms of exports, Chinese construction machinery continues to overcome obstacles in the global market.
Leading companies are accelerating their globalization and are deeply rooted overseas in R&D, manufacturing, sales, services and other fields.
Strong demand for infrastructure and mining in regions along the “One Belt and One Road”, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America provides solid support for exports.
By setting up production bases, spare parts centers and training networks overseas, companies have enhanced localized operational capabilities, and the stability and sustainability of exports have been significantly enhanced.
The gradual recovery of the domestic market and the stabilization of overseas demand have formed a dual drive, and the industry as a whole has entered a new stage of increasing quantity and quality.
As the “barometer” of the industry, the overall popularity of excavators and loaders not only represents market enthusiasm, but also sends a positive signal that downstream investment is active and corporate confidence is improving.
The explosive growth of new energy engineering machinery, intelligent and green leading the future
Against the background of rising overall sales, the sudden rise of new energy engineering machinery has attracted particular attention.
New energy engineering machinery has become the biggest highlight.
In the first five months of the year, the sales volume of electric loaders was 20,819 units, a year-on-year increase of 90.9%, and the export volume was 1,232 units, a year-on-year increase of 208%.
The domestic market is gradually recovering and overseas demand is stable. Driven by these two factors, companies are accelerating their globalization layout and their sales potential continues to be released.
The rapid growth of electric loaders is due to the triple dividends of technology, policy and market.
On the technical side, the energy density of power batteries has been increased, the cost has been reduced, and the lifespan and charging and discharging efficiency have been improved, making electric loaders competitive with traditional fuel engines in terms of economy and reliability.
On the policy side, many places have introduced environmental protection policies for non-road mobile machinery, and some closed scenes such as ports, mines, and mixing stations have made it clear that electric products are preferred for new equipment.
On the market side, users’ recognition of the advantages of electric loaders such as zero emissions, low noise, and easy maintenance has rapidly increased. The full life cycle cost has been significantly better than that of oil-fired loaders under certain working conditions.
In addition to electric loaders, product lines such as electric excavators, electric mining trucks, and electric forklifts have also made breakthroughs, and the new energy matrix is becoming increasingly rich.
More and more companies regard electrification as their core strategy, invest heavily in the research and development of power systems, electronic control systems and intelligent management platforms, and build full life cycle solutions from charging facilities to battery recycling.
As for future trends, the China Construction Machinery Industry Association predicts that industry revenue and exports will continue to maintain steady growth in 2026, the penetration rate of new energy will increase significantly, the output and application scope of electric excavators and other products will further expand, and high-end, intelligent, and green are becoming the main lines of industry transformation.
In terms of intelligence, technologies such as 5G remote driving, unmanned construction, and digital twins have been implemented in actual working conditions, and construction companies are changing from purchasing equipment to purchasing “smart construction services.”
In terms of greening, in addition to electrification, hydrogen and hybrid power routes are also being actively explored, and the pace of carbon reduction across the industry is accelerating.
The vigorous development of the industry is inseparable from a strong and complete industrial chain foundation.
According to relevant data, as of now, there are more than 28,000 excavator-related companies in operation and existence in my country.
From the perspective of regional distribution, Shandong Province, Anhui Province, and Zhejiang Province rank at the forefront in terms of the number of excavator-related companies, with more than 4,100, more than 2,900, and more than 2,700 related companies respectively.
The huge enterprise cluster covers main engine manufacturers, parts suppliers, dealers and after-market service providers, forming industrial clusters with unique characteristics.
Shandong relies on its profound manufacturing heritage to gather leading main engine manufacturing companies; Anhui continues to make efforts in the field of construction machinery and special vehicles, with a significant cluster effect; Zhejiang performs outstandingly in high-end hydraulic parts and electronic control systems.
This highly agglomerated industrial ecosystem with division of labor and collaboration provides strong support for the industry’s transformation into high-end, intelligent, and green industries.
Looking at the future from the present, China’s construction machinery industry is at a critical node where cyclical recovery and structural upgrades overlap.
The rapid penetration of new energy and the in-depth application of intelligent technology are redefining the industry competition landscape.
Companies that work simultaneously on the three tracks of electrification, intelligence, and globalization will have a greater chance of taking the lead in industrial transformation.
As the penetration rate of new energy increases significantly and the proportion of high-end products continues to expand, China’s construction machinery industry will not only continue to expand its territory in the global market, but also write a new chapter in the leap from a “manufacturing power” to a “manufacturing power”.
