Why the low-voltage inverter market foreign brands dominate

Since the inverter market has a significant role in such areas as energy conservation and emission reduction as well as improvement of motor operation performance, the market will continue to grow in the long term. With the growth of market demand and the constant maturity of technology, the game between domestic-funded brands and foreign brands is also undergoing profound changes.

Since the driving factors of high-voltage frequency conversion and low- and medium-voltage frequency conversion are different, this has led to differentiation in the growth rates of the two sub-sectors. At present, the purpose of high-voltage frequency conversion is to save energy, and it is mainly used in large-scale pumps and fans. Under the guidance of the national energy-saving emission reduction policy, high-voltage frequency conversion has seen a growth of more than 40% in recent years. The purpose of the low-voltage frequency conversion is to improve the performance of the motor, belonging to a higher level of demand, so the growth rate is stable, in recent years has maintained a 15% -20% growth.

The price of high-voltage frequency conversion and medium- and low-voltage frequency conversion accounts for different proportions of complete sets of equipment, which in turn leads to differentiation in the competitive landscape of the two sub-sectors. Because the cost of high-voltage frequency conversion accounts for a relatively high proportion of complete sets of equipment, downstream companies are more sensitive to prices, which also leads to a 80% market share of domestic brands known to be cost-effective. The low- and medium-voltage inverters account for a relatively small proportion of the total equipment, but their performance requirements are high. Therefore, downstream companies pay more attention to the use of the products, thus making the market share of foreign brands reach more than 70%.

The differences in driving factors and the differentiation in the positioning of downstream companies have also led to differences in the short-term influence factors of domestic brands in high-voltage and medium- and low-voltage inverter industries. The high-voltage frequency conversion industry is enjoying more rapid growth of the industry, while the low-voltage frequency conversion industry is more emphasis on market share.

From the perspective of long-term development, the submarkets with the greatest potential for growth of high-voltage inverters are high-performance high-voltage inverters and high-power high-voltage inverters. The growth of medium- and low-voltage inverters stems from the extension of servo systems and industrial control equipment.

Benefiting from high-end manufacturing, product upgrades and rising labor costs, industrial automation systems (PLC/DCS, servos, inverters, etc.) will enter a long-term boom cycle. Customers who can understand customer needs, quickly enter new market segments, respond to customer needs in a timely manner, and provide a full range of services will stand out from the crowd.