Micro excavators see overseas sales boom

The XE35U-E, China's XCMG's all-electric excavator, is exhibited at the 2020 CONEXPO-CON/AGG in Las Vegas, the United States, on March 11, 2020. (Photo/Xinhua)

China's homegrown micro excavators are seeing a sales boom in the European and U.S. markets, as they have been adapted for users and are easy to operate.

The machines, some of which are narrow and short enough to be driven through doorways, can be used by people to maintain gardens and fix up houses, especially when they are staying at home for self-quarantine amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Foreign customers have different preferences when it comes to the color of the machines. "American customers like white excavators, Russian customers like green excavators, while Indian customers prefer white and yellow ones," said Wang Tao, a manager with China's leading heavy-equipment manufacturer Sany Heavy Industry Co., Ltd.

"The orders for our excavators placed by European and U.S. customers soared by 145 percent year-on-year, and the ones that weigh between 0.8 tons and 9 tons sell best. A 2.5 ton excavator is priced at between 20,000 and 30,000 euros," said Zhang Jinjin, head of the international marketing department with Sunward, an advanced machinery manufacturer based in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province.

To satisfy the massive overseas demand, Sunward had to expand its production capacity by building a new production base, according to Zhang. "Half of the production lines under construction belong to the international marketing department. We hope to have the lines ready as soon as possible so that our production capacity catches up with demand," he said.

Statistics from the China Construction Machinery Association indicated that the number of excavators sold overseas has doubled since April.

In the first half of the year, machinery exports from Hunan province reached 2.587 billion yuan, up 42 percent year on year. Exports of excavators saw a 100-percent increase from last year, and tax exemptions on machinery exports, including excavators, stood at 320 million yuan in Hunan, according to Jiang Weihua from the customs department of Changsha.