Fueled by the national home appliance trade-in program and the continued recovery of the international markets, both the domestic and export markets of China's home appliance industry maintained growth in 2024. In particular, the trade-in program greatly stimulated the domestic home appliance consumption after kicking in since the fourth quarter. Benefiting from the dual positive effects of the domestic and export markets, the overall performance of China's home appliance industry in 2024 was strong, with both revenue and profit maintaining growth.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the revenue of China’s home appliance industry in 2024 reached 1.95 trillion yuan, approaching the 2 trillion-yuan milestone, representing a year-on-year increase of 5.6%. The total profits amounted to 173.7 billion yuan, up 11.4% year-on-year.
For the companies that have disclosed their annual performance reports, their performances in 2024 showed clear differentiation. On one hand, driven by the trade-in program, large home appliance companies saw a significant increase in demand, particularly with a notable rise in turnover in the fourth quarter. On the other hand, the domestic consumption of small home appliance and kitchen appliance markets has not been significantly boosted, and the industry players are in pressing need to look for new growth drivers.
In 2024, the production of major home appliance categories saw a significant rebound fueled by export orders and the domestic trade-in policy. According to production and sales data, the production and shipment of China's white goods clearly increased.
Production and shipment growth in the white goods sector exceeded 10% in 2024. Factors such as rising raw material prices, the domestic trade-in program, and the growth of overseas orders stimulated the stocking pace of related products.
Domestic Sales
The trade-in program unlocked home appliance consumption, driving a rebound in the domestic market. Stimulated by the program, China's home appliance market saw a shift from sluggish retail sales in the first half of the year to a rebound in the third quarter, effectively releasing the latent demand in the home appliance market.
In 2024, the domestic home appliance market experienced a rebound after a cooling in the beginning, with the overall scale maintaining growth. In 2024, the retail market size for home appliances in China reached 902.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.9%.
In 2024, China launched the trade-in program for consumer goods, which became a key driver for revitalizing home appliance consumption. According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, more than 37 million consumers purchased over 60 million units of eight major categories of home appliances, with more than 90% being high-end products with energy efficiency grade 1, driving sales exceeding 260 billion yuan. The trade-in program effectively improved the product structure of home appliances on the market. With high-end products being the main beneficiaries, it effectively drives an upgrade in the product structure in the market.
Exports
In 2024, China's home appliance industry posted strong export performance, with cumulative exports totaling $112.42 billion, a year-on-year increase of 14%. After the growth rate turned positive in November 2023, the trend continued, surpassing the historical peak of 2021 and reaching a new high. Meanwhile, China's home appliance imports in 2024 totaled $3.26 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 7.2%.
In 2024, China's home appliance exports maintained strong growth throughout the year, with exports of large home appliances, small home appliances, and components all showing a comprehensive rebound in both volume and value. Meanwhile, the export average prices of both large and small home appliances continued to decline throughout the year. China's home appliance components exports recovered from the sluggishness that began in the fourth quarter of 2022, maintaining a steady growth trend in 2024. This is not only due to the expansion of overseas home appliance production but also reflects the rapid overseas production deployment by Chinese home appliance companies in the past two years.
In December 2024, China's home appliance industry maintained the growth across most countries and regions. In terms of cumulative exports, BRICS countries continued to lead in growth, EU countries performed consistently well, while countries in regions such as Australia/Canada, ASEAN, and the Middle East/North Africa saw steady growth. The U.S. and Japan experienced slight growth.
In 2024, container freight rates for most shipping routes rebounded rapidly. The strong rebound in container freight rates is partly due to geopolitical disruptions, such as the Red Sea crisis, which caused a tightening of shipping capacity. On the other hand, under the backdrop of global supply chain reshaping, China's manufacturing industries are shifting towards globally distributed factories, and changes in the types of goods transported, distances, and routes are driving up transportation costs. In the future, container shipping may become one of the key variables that requires long-term attention.
Outlook
Reviewing the developments of 2024, three clear trends emerged in China’s home appliance industry: (1) In the first half of the year, domestic demand was insufficient, particularly in the second quarter, leading to high operating pressure and intensified domestic market competition with signs of price wars. (2) The trade-in program unleashed consumer demand and revitalized the industry. (3) Companies stepped up international expansion. Many small and medium-sized enterprises, in addition to leading firms, also began laying out international operations.
Entering 2025, China has placed great emphasis on boosting domestic demand, with the trade-in program remaining the main focus and the range of benefiting product categories further expanded. However, the tariff escalation by the Trump administration is believed to be hitting the global trade hard.
On January 8, 2025, China announced a raft of measures to expand the scope of consumer goods trade-in program amid stepped-up efforts to boost domestic demand and spur economic growth. The categories of home appliances eligible for government subsidies were increased from 8 in 2024 to 12 in 2025, with microwaves, water purifiers, dishwashers and rice cookers added to the list. This is expected to further unleash the domestic demand for home appliances.
In 2024, China’s home appliance export value hit a new historical high. Factors such as declining overseas inflation, easing monetary policy pressures, and restocking of durable goods will continue to drive up the overseas demand. The resilience of China's home appliance exports are expected to be continuously supported by factors such as low-level RMB exchange rates and commodity prices, the global competitive advantage of China's home appliance industry chain and products, the rapid development of cross-border and overseas e-commerce channels, the slow recovery of the domestic market which pushes companies to accelerate their expansion abroad, and the "export rush" driven by the U.S. election.
Since February 2025, U.S. tariff policies have been implemented rapidly. The high tariffs will inevitably squeeze the profit margins of Chinese home appliance companies and weaken the price competitiveness of their products in the U.S. market, posing particular challenges for export-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises that mainly operate under the OEM model.
In recent years, Chinese home appliance companies have clearly accelerated their international expansion and have been adjusting their market structures, with leading companies further improving their global localization strategies. The top companies have demonstrated a strong resilience to risks through their ability to coordinate global resources. In the face of the unpredictable U.S. tariff policies, some companies' overseas investment plans may be temporarily disrupted.
In fact, it is not only Chinese home appliance companies that are affected; overseas home appliance companies also face the common cost challenges brought by tariffs. Although in the short term, tariffs may dampen consumer demand and weaken trade with the U.S., in the long run, consumer demand for high-quality products will not disappear. The competitiveness of Chinese home appliance companies in the global market is not solely based on cost advantages, but also on the comprehensive strengths of a well-developed industrial chain and continuous innovation. Therefore, the cost increases caused by U.S. tariffs is believed to be hurting the interests of American consumers.