Air Conditioners (Global Market)

2024: Global Air Conditioner Market Size Up 4% to $30.58 Billion for the Year

In 2024, sales of air conditioners on a global scale reached $30.58 billion. This is about 4% more compared to 2023, when the market volume was estimated at $29.51 billion. Such figures are given in the Market Research Future review, published in early February 2025.

One of the main drivers of the industry in question is named technological advances. Developers are constantly improving the characteristics of air conditioners, improving their performance, reducing power consumption and integrating intelligent functions. The introduction of the Internet of Things (IoT) allows users to remotely monitor and manage climate equipment, which increases the convenience of everyday use. In addition, continued urbanization is contributing to the growth of air conditioner sales: this trend is especially noticeable in developing regions, where more people are moving to urban areas.

Analysts identify five key market segments: residential, commercial and industrial, as well as the retail and healthcare sectors. In 2024, revenue in these areas amounted to $12.15 billion, $9.3 billion, $4.6 billion, $2.85 billion and $1.68 billion, respectively. Geographically, North America provided the largest revenue - $10.5 billion. This is followed by the Asia-Pacific region with $8 billion, Europe with $7.5 billion, South America with $2.5 billion, the Middle East and Africa with $2.08 billion. Significant players in the industry are named:

• Mitsubishi Electric;
• LG Electronics;
• Trane Technologies;
• Bosch Thermotechnology;
• Samsung;
• Panasonic;
• Fujitsu;
• Carrier;
• Johnson Controls;
• Daikin;
• Gree Electric Appliances;
• Toshiba;
• Hitachi;
• Haier;
• Bristol.

Analysts at Market Research Future estimate that air conditioner sales on a global scale could reach $45.22 billion by 2035.^[1]

2022: World's first liquid nitrogen conditioner launched

In mid-August 2022, the Israeli company Green Kinoko announced the release of an environmentally friendly outdoor cooling system. Kinsho systems work as a return heater for outdoor cafes, cooling several tables per unit area without the use of electricity. Read more here.

2020: Sales of home air conditioners decreased by 6.1%, to 153.5 million units

Sales of home air conditioners in the world at the end of 2020 reached 153.5 million units, down 6.1% compared to 2019. The decline occurred despite the fact that due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, people began to spend more time at home. But the demand for air conditioners still decreased. This is evidenced by the data of the analytical company Euromonitor International UK, which were released in August 2021.

According to experts, the five largest manufacturers control almost 60% of the global market for household air conditioners. The first place in 2020 was taken by the Chinese company Zhuhai Gree Electric, which accounted for just over 20% of sales of climate technology, which is 0.1 percentage points more than a year earlier. In second place is another Chinese brand - Midea Group. This company managed to get a little closer to the leader thanks to an increase in the share by 2 percentage points, to 19.3%.

Sales of home air conditioners in 2020 decreased by 6.1%, market leaders

The top 3 was closed by Haier Group, which recorded 12.4% of the global market for home air conditioners (+ 1.5 percentage points by 2019). The fourth place in the ranking was taken by LG Electronics (4.1%), the fifth - Panasonic (3.9%).

Analysts note that in 2020, ideal weather conditions have developed for the sale of air conditioners. However, the sudden COVID-19 pandemic caused a sharp drop in demand in Southeast Asia and India, which previously experienced stable growth. In addition, the quarantine associated with the pandemic has led to a shortage of components and spare parts in a number of regions, causing a reduction in the production of air conditioners.

As the disease spread, many leading industry exhibitions were postponed or canceled. Energy efficiency measures planned in a number of countries and the transition to environmentally friendly refrigerants have not been implemented. The difficult blow to the world market for air conditioning systems in 2020 was caused by the difficult international situation, expressed, in particular, in the instability of exchange rates and trade wars.^[2]work

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