Chinese electronics companies are rapidly expanding their reach beyond their domestic market into Southeast Asia and Europe. Unlike in the past, when they relied on price competitiveness, these firms are now focusing on enhancing quality and strengthening local distribution and service networks to dominate the global appliance market. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are intensifying efforts to maintain their positions in the premium markets of Europe and India.
According to market research firm Euromonitor International, the share of imported products in the Chinese appliance market was only 1.4% last year. The top five domestic manufacturers accounted for 82.2% of production, with Midea holding the largest share at 27.7%. The Chinese appliance market has long been restructured around local production and supply companies.
In the Chinese refrigerator market last year, Haier led with a 45% share, followed by Midea at 15% and Hisense at 12%, with the top three companies capturing 72% of the market. In the washing machine sector, Haier and Little Swan combined for a 70% share, while Midea, Gree, and Haier together held 71% of the air conditioning market.
Having bolstered their competitiveness in the domestic market, Chinese companies are now accelerating their global market share expansion, starting with Southeast Asia. Euromonitor reports that the market share of Chinese companies in major appliance categories such as refrigerators, washing machines, and dishwashers in Southeast Asia rose from 17% in 2020 to 20.8% last year. During the same period, their share in the air conditioning market increased from 16.1% to 26.6%, a jump of 10.5 percentage points.
The next target for Chinese companies is Europe, particularly in the air conditioning market, where they have made significant strides. Last year, Midea achieved a 35% share of the German air conditioning market, ranking first in retail sales, followed by Haier with 22%.
Chinese companies are also increasing their influence in the European TV market. Market research firm Omdia predicts that Hisense's smart TV operating system, V HomeOS (formerly Vidaa), will surpass LG Electronics' webOS in shipments in Europe this year. As Chinese TV manufacturers like Hisense and TCL expand their hardware market share in Europe, their proprietary platforms are also gaining traction.
However, K-appliances continue to hold a distinct advantage in the premium market. According to Omdia statistics, OLED TV shipments in Europe exceeded 3.14 million units last year for the first time. LG Electronics shipped approximately 1.59 million units, capturing a 50.5% market share. Since launching OLED TV sales in Europe in 2013, LG has surpassed cumulative sales of 10 million units by last year.
In India, K-appliances remain at the forefront of major appliance categories. Omdia reports that Samsung Electronics held a 23.8% share of the Indian TV market in the first half of last year, ranking first, while LG Electronics followed with 16.5%. In the white goods sector, LG's position is solid. According to LG Electronics' Indian subsidiary's annual report, from April last year to March this year, LG led the offline market in India with a 28.8% share in refrigerators and a 31.5% share in washing machines. In the premium OLED TV segment, LG captured a 60.0% share as of March this year.
Nonetheless, Chinese companies are aggressively pursuing market share. Haier's Indian subsidiary reported revenues of 99.74 billion rupees last year, a 21% increase from the previous year. Now ranked third in the Indian appliance market behind LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics, Haier is also accelerating its local production capabilities and distribution network expansion.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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