Korean Construction Machinery Industry Expediting Penetration of New Markets instead of China. Korea’s construction machinery makers including HD Hyundai Infracore, HD Hyundai Construction Equipment, and Doosan Bobcat are pumping up their efforts to target emerging markets such as India, Brazil, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia where demand is surging, instead of North America and Europe where the growth of the construction machinery markets have slowed.
HD Hyundai Construction Equipment, the 23rd largest global construction equipment maker by sales (2022 forecast), scaled up its market share in India to 17.4 percent in the first quarter of this year from 13.9 percent in 2019, according to industry data. During the same period, the market share of Japan’s Hitachi, the No. 1 player in India, dropped from 30.2 percent to 20.8 percent. The Korean construction machinery giant has set a goal of reaching the top spot with a 30 percent share by 2030.
HD Hyundai Infracore, ranked 19th globally, is targeting Mexico and Saudi Arabia. The company plans to expand into the Latin American market in earnest, starting with Mexico where it will establish a sales subsidiary this September. The company has decided to expand sales activities to resources development companies and local governments to shift its sales portfolio from small and medium-sized excavators and wheel loaders to large excavators. The company also plans to launch new heavy equipment for mining sites such as articulated dump trucks (ADTs) and wide-dump trucks (WDTs).
HD Hyundai Infracore aims to increase its market share in Mexico from 8.5 percent in 2020 to 13 percent this year and 16 percent in 2028. In Saudi Arabia, where it holds the top spot with a market share of more than 20 percent, the company will focus on preventing customers from leaving for other companies.
Global No. 11 Doosan Bobcat, which placed a big bet on the North American market, is also turning its eyes to emerging markets. The company, with its North American sales accounting for 70 percent of its total sales, plans to increase sales of excavators, backhoe loaders, and other construction equipment in countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Brazil.
For a long time, China has been the biggest market of interest for HD Hyundai Infracore and HD Hyundai Construction Equipment. In 2021, China accounted for 29 percent and 21 percent of their sales, respectively. This is due to an explosive increase in demand for construction in China. However, as a “Buy Chinese” move began, Chinese contractors began to buy Chinese construction equipment and construction demand slowed down, making the Chinese construction machinery market less attractive for Korean construction machinery makers.
This explains why Korean construction equipment manufacturers have turned to North America and Europe since 2022. In the United States, in 2023, construction equipment sales soared as local factory construction increased under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). However, due to high sales in 2023, orders have reportedly dropped significantly this year. “Inventories are piling up in North America and Europe, so we’re cutting back on exports,” said an insider of the Korean construction machinery industry.
The Korean construction machinery industry found new markets such as India, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Demand for mining resources such as copper, gold, silver, and lithium is on the uptick in Mexico, Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. This is good news for Korean construction equipment makers.
출처 : Businesskorea(https://www.businesskorea.co.kr)
