China’s Roborock Tops US’ iRobot to Become World’s Largest Robot Vacuum Maker in Second Quarter
China’s Roborock Tops US’ iRobot to Become World’s Largest Robot Vacuum Maker in Second Quarter
(Yicai) Sept. 20 -- Roborock Technology has surpassed US firm iRobot to become the world’s largest robot vacuum maker by shipments in the second quarter of the year.
Roborock’s shipments rose 8 percent in the three months ended June 30 from a year earlier, while iRobot’s fell 6 percent in the period, according to a report released by the International Data Corporation yesterday. The former also surpassed the latter in terms of revenues from the robot vacuum cleaner business.
Nine of the world’s 10 largest sweeping robot makers were Chinese companies in the second quarter. Ecovacs ranked third, followed by Xiaomi, Dreame, Narwal, Anker Innovations, SharkNinja, Lefant, and ILife Robot, according to the report.
Global robot vacuum shipments soared nearly 16 percent to over 5.1 million units in the period, the report also showed. In the first half, the figure exceeded 9.6 million units, Yicai calculated from IDC data.
With the upgrading of robot vacuum cleaners’ functions, the pace of new product releases accelerated in the first half, with the proportion of high-end products to overall shipments surging, driving the average unit price up to about USD485 in the second quarter, IDC noted.
The main competition in the smart robot vacuum market will focus on high-end products in the second half, with their accelerated deployment expected to intensify competition, said Zhao Siquan, senior analyst at IDC China. The rise in average prices will impose higher requirements on consumers’ purchasing power, she added.
Chinese companies are accelerating their overseas expansions, especially in developed markets where their products have significant performance advantages, IDC added. North America and Europe will remain key battlegrounds for Chinese firms in the second half, Zhao predicted.
Global vacuum cleaner sales rose 13 percent in the six months ended June 30 from a year earlier, with robot vacuum cleaners accounting for about 26 percent of the total. The share of robot vacuums is increasing because of consumers’ higher remand for convenience, health, and technological innovations, said Lu Yan, managing director of the Chinese branch of German researcher GFK.
Rapid innovation and intensified competition are the main reasons Chinese sweeping robot makers are expanding overseas, Zhou Nan, secretary-general of the Household Appliances Branch of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, told Yicai.