The construction machinery industry is experiencing a new wave of growth in 2025. The release of policy dividends, the start of renewal cycles, and the acceleration of technological revolutions are all driving the industry into a critical stage of development.
"Domestic demand for earthmoving machinery is expected to continue to grow in the second half of the year, and the industry's overall sales of excavators and loaders are expected to achieve a year-on-year growth rate of more than 10% for the whole year." Liugong made the judgment at an analyst meeting on July 11.
Recently released sales figures supported the optimistic outlook. According to the China Construction Machinery Association, the total sales of excavators in the first half of 2025 reached 120,520 units, up 16.8% year-on-year. Among them, the domestic market increased by 22.9% year-on-year, and exports increased by 10.2%. The total sales of loaders reached 64,769 units, up 13.6 percent year-on-year, with domestic sales increasing by as much as 23.2 percent.
Driven by both policy and market forces, the construction machinery industry faces both challenges and opportunities. Who will seize the initiative in this round of transformation? Next, let's take a look at the four major trends in the construction machinery industry in the second half of 2025:
Trend 1: Policy dividends are released and domestic demand is gradually recovering
Entering 2025, sales of products such as excavators and loaders continue to rebound, sending positive signals that China's construction machinery industry is gradually recovering and domestic demand is rebounding.
In the second half of the year, the domestic construction machinery market will be driven by two forces:
First, policy dividends continue to be released. The 2025 government work report shows that 1.3 trillion yuan of ultra-long-term special Treasury bonds are planned to be issued this year, an increase of 300 billion yuan compared with last year; It is planned to allocate 4.4 trillion yuan of local government special bonds, an increase of 500 billion yuan compared with the previous year. The influx of a large amount of funds has enabled numerous infrastructure projects to be launched and advanced, injecting strong impetus into the development of the construction machinery industry. Subsequently, a series of policies or subsidies to boost domestic demand will continue to stimulate domestic demand upward.
Second, the demand for equipment renewal should not be underestimated. In recent years, the construction machinery industry has been moving towards electrification, intelligence and digitalization, which has naturally driven the upgrading of products. At the same time, based on the previous industry cycle, the 8-10 year equipment renewal cycle has arrived, and a large-scale equipment renewal trend is expected in 2025 and the following years.
Trend 2: International market differentiation, emerging markets rise
At present, overseas markets have become the focus of development for China's construction machinery industry. Since 2025, there has been a marked recovery in the overseas market. As the global economy gradually recovers, many countries have stepped up infrastructure construction, and the demand for construction machinery has risen accordingly.
Compared with the domestic market, the global construction machinery market presents a complex situation. Liugong analyzed that the international market is facing multiple complex challenges such as the resurgence of global trade protectionism and is still in a period of demand bottoming out as a whole, and is expected to recover gradually in 2026.
At present, regional differentiation still exists in the international market: on the one hand, there is rapid penetration in overseas emerging markets. Infrastructure demand in emerging markets represented by Latin America, India and Africa continues to grow. Domestic equipment with high cost performance and quality after-sales service is favored, and the global penetration rate is gradually increasing.
On the other hand, mature markets also hold development opportunities due to the accelerated trend of new energy and technological upgrades, and the globalization strategy of Chinese construction machinery enterprises is being adjusted. According to KHL data, the total sales of the world's top 50 construction machinery manufacturers will be $237.6 billion in 2024, with XCMG, Sany and Zoomlion having market shares of 5.4%, 4.6% and 2.4% respectively. This figure shows both the gap and indicates huge room for improvement.
Trend 3: The second-hand machine market is vast, and the overseas expansion of existing stock is accelerating
China is one of the world's largest markets for construction machinery. The number of second-hand construction machinery vehicles in use exceeds 9 million, and the market size is still expanding. It is expected to reach 150 billion yuan by 2025. Shan Zenghai, a deputy to the National People's Congress and chief engineer and vice president of XCMG, said.
Thanks to the increase in the number of equipment in use, China's second-hand construction machinery export industry has flourished in recent years. Since 2021, China has seen a rapid increase in the export of second-hand excavators, and for the first time in 2024, it surpassed the domestic sales of new machines, marking the industry's official entry into the era of "exporting existing stock".
At the same time, driven by the domestic equipment renewal cycle (8-10 years) and environmental protection policies, driven by multiple factors such as the upgrade of National IV emission standards, the development of new energy equipment, and large-scale equipment renewal policies, the construction machinery industry is experiencing a structural machine replacement wave, which not only boosts new machine sales but also creates a source of fresh water for the export of second-hand machines.
At present, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and other regions are in a period of accelerated industrialization, with a large infrastructure gap and a strong demand for high cost-performance medium and small-sized equipment. Compared with mature markets such as Europe, the United States and Japan, Chinese second-hand machines have a significant price advantage. The demand for infrastructure in emerging overseas markets resonates with the cost-performance advantage, providing a broad space for China's second-hand equipment exports.
Trend 4: Smart electricity transformation accelerates, reshaping the industrial landscape
In recent years, almost all first - and second-tier brands in the construction machinery industry have made plans in the directions of electrification, greenization and intelligence. It can be said that the transformation trend of construction machinery is unstoppable.
In the context of the "dual carbon" strategy, the wave of electrification in construction machinery is accelerating. At present, leading domestic enterprises have achieved electrification of all product categories, among which the market penetration rate of electric loaders has exceeded 30%. BCG predicts that China's pure electric construction machinery market will reach a breakout point in 2025-2026 and may reach a penetration rate of 30% by 2035.
At the same time, the rapid penetration of intelligent technologies also brings new development opportunities to the construction machinery industry. The deep integration of 5G, AI and industrial Internet provides technical support for the unmanned and minimally manned development of the construction machinery industry, such as mining equipment, and is transforming from simple mechanical equipment to intelligent operation systems.
In the future, driven by both policy and market demand, electrification and intelligence are becoming the "dual engines" for China's construction machinery industry to break through. In the process of internationalization, Chinese enterprises are no longer confined to product export, but are pushing the Chinese standard of "green intelligent manufacturing" to the world.
In the second half of 2025, the construction machinery industry, with the strong support of favorable policies and the renewal cycle, has a clear growth momentum in the domestic market. However, the real industry reshuffle and reshaping will be driven more deeply by the three major trends of the green revolution, the intelligent leap and the global deepening. Policies and cycles bring Windows of opportunity, but technological strength and a global perspective are the key chips that will determine the future market landscape!
