(image: Doosan Infracore)
SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean companies, led by Doosan Infracore Co., logged robust sales in China’s excavator market last year as the world’s No. 2 economy increased spending on infrastructure, industry sources said Tuesday.
According to the data provided by Eugine Investment & Securities, Doosan Infracore, South Korea’s No. 1 construction equipment maker, sold a total of 15,630 excavators in China last year, up 44 percent from a year earlier.
Hyundai Construction Equipment Co., another South Korean construction equipment maker, sold 7,234 excavators in the neighboring country last year, more than tripling the number from a year earlier, the data showed.
In December alone, Doosan Infracore sold 1,293 excavators there to log a 9.1 percent market share.
“Higher demand from massive infrastructure projects, along with increased replacement of aged excavators, helped jack up sales there,” a Doosan Infracore official said.
Last year, 184,320 excavators were sold in China, surpassing the previous record high of 176,053 units in 2017.
China’s excavator market has been growing sharply thanks to the country’s ongoing railroad, highway and airport projects in lower-tier cities, as well as continued urbanization.
In particular, China’s massive “One Belt, One Road” infrastructure drive aimed at increasing its economic clout in Asia is stimulating demand for excavators.
The country accounts for roughly a third of the world’s construction equipment market.
“Demand for excavators in China may be better this year than previously anticipated, as last month’s sales beat our expectations,” Lee Sang-woo, an analyst at Eugine Investment, said.
The analyst expects the sales of excavators in China to reach some 175,000 units this year, down 5.1 percent from last year.
(Yonhap)
