In the public’s inherent perception, China’s manufacturing of construction machinery has always relied on large-scale shield machines, giant cranes and other powerful equipment to go overseas.
Relying on top technology, hard-core large-scale equipment has firmly established itself in the high-end global infrastructure market and has become the most eye-catching business card of Made in China.
However, the global overseas civil equipment market has ushered in a new trend, and a number of small and lightweight domestically produced small machines have bucked the trend and broken through.
Mini excavators, smart lawn mowers, and multifunctional electric tricycles are exported to Europe, the United States, Southeast Asia, and Africa, and overseas orders continue to surge.
The inconspicuous small and micro equipment is popular all over the world, reflecting the new transformation direction of China’s manufacturing industry and letting the world see the strong confidence in the refined development of China’s manufacturing industry.
The overseas popularity of domestically produced small and micro machinery originated from an unexpected overseas Internet celebrity evaluation.
A 1.2-ton mini excavator from Jining, Shandong became completely popular after being photographed and evaluated by a Norwegian blogger.
This device sells for less than $2,000, has a flexible and compact body, and can be adapted to a variety of household scenarios such as gardening and land excavation.
After the evaluation video was released, the number of views exceeded 4 million, detonating overseas social platforms.
The company took advantage of the situation and signed up local bloggers to delve into the Nordic market and quickly open up a gap in the European civil machinery market.
CCTV News field visit data shows that the production cost of domestic mini excavators is only one-third to one-quarter of similar overseas products.
Jining’s complete construction machinery industry chain provides strong support. More than 80% of equipment parts and components can be purchased locally, directly reducing procurement costs by 10%.
The local factory exports more than 260 mini excavators every day. In 2025, the company will sell 15,000 complete machines, with overseas sales accounting for 75%.
The one-stop pickup service for overseas warehouses has been implemented to further improve the overseas supporting system.
Domestic manufacturing companies are deeply exploring segmented needs and jumping out of the quagmire of low-price involution.
The company optimizes the lightweight design of equipment for the use scenarios of European and American home gardens, simultaneously develops small crawler lawn mowers with the same technology, and relies on local industrial clusters to quickly achieve mass production.
An electric tricycle company in Suining, Sichuan, is focusing on overseas markets and customizing voice systems in six languages to adapt to usage scenarios in multiple countries.
In 2026, the company’s overseas orders will exceed 100,000 units, with export sales accounting for 40%. Many local car companies are simultaneously expanding their factories to cope with the surge in orders.
Data from the China Construction Machinery Industry Association show that overall domestic excavator exports will increase by 16.1% year-on-year in 2025, and the export growth rate of small machinery will far exceed the industry average.
The recognition of domestic equipment in overseas markets comes from the comprehensive strength of a complete supply chain, customized research and development, and localized after-sales.
Made in China has long bid farewell to pure low-price competition and relies on the hard power of the entire chain to conquer global consumers.
Big countries use heavy weapons to support China’s manufacturing, and small and micro products expand China’s manufacturing territory.
The popularity of small and micro machinery overseas is not an accidental dividend brought by short-term traffic, but an inevitable result of China’s precise layout and segmentation of the blue ocean market.
Competition in the large-scale construction machinery track has long been saturated. Domestic manufacturing companies are targeting the civilian niche market and embarking on a differentiated overseas path that is unique to China’s manufacturing industry.
Competition in the global segmented manufacturing market will only become more intense in the future.
Continuous technological innovation and the advantages of the entire industry chain are the core foundation for the long-term development of the manufacturing industry.
Made in China is gradually completing the upgrade and transformation from manufacturing products to building brands and providing services. More cost-effective and highly adaptable domestic products will continue to light up the global market.
