The European and American markets, with their long-term potential for scale, high profits, enhancement of brand value, and key pivot points in global strategic layout, have always been an important part of China's construction machinery enterprises' "going global" strategy.

With the official implementation of the "Big and Beautiful" bill in the United States and the instability of US tariffs, Europe is becoming a "strategic haven" for Chinese construction machinery companies to go global, especially for their new energy products, and a key pivot for brand growth.

For Chinese construction machinery companies, even though they have achieved better results in emerging markets, the industry has always been fascinated by the European market. Because Europe is not just a major sales market, its core value lies in high-end products and the best proof of brand value.

Data shows that in terms of the proportion of electricity energy, fossil fuel power generation in Europe is much lower than that in China and the United States. The proportion of green energy in Europe is about 66%, while in China it is 35% and in the United States it is 40%. Relatively speaking, Europe's inherent advantages lead to a higher acceptance of developing green energy and a more active promotion of carbon neutrality strategies. Therefore, Europe has become a hot spot for the development of new energy engineering machinery.

From a policy perspective, the EU's "Green Deal" has set the ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, with a series of strict environmental regulations being introduced one after another, and the government providing funding and support for the development of new energy. In June, the European Union released its third anniversary review of the "REPowerEU" (European Renewable Energy Programme), which showed that over the past three years, the EU has mobilized nearly 300 billion euros (approximately 342.06 billion US dollars) to support member states in implementing green energy related action plans.

At the market demand level, European customers have a strong preference for high reliability, high-efficiency and energy-saving products, and have a high acceptance of new energy products. In some project bidding and construction, new energy engineering machinery has become a bonus point, and the strong demand on the demand side has made the prospects of new energy engineering machinery broad.

The EU Stage V emission standard is currently the strictest non road mobile machinery emission regulation in the world, and various countries continue to benchmark against or even surpass the EU in the formulation of emission standards. The value of EU certification has always been high. It can be said that any construction machinery enterprise that has established a foothold in the European market has already entered the ranks of high-end brands, almost reaching a level of being invincible in the global market.

In addition, Europe has developed economy and industry, and has high requirements for product technology progressiveness, reliability, full life cycle cost (TCO) and environmental protection benefits. It is willing to pay premium for higher production efficiency, lower energy consumption and maintenance costs, and better environmental performance. This coincides with the strategic demand of China's leading construction machinery enterprises to shift from "cost-effectiveness" competition to "value competition", providing an opportunity for their high-end new energy products to achieve brand transition.

Faced with the potential blue ocean of new energy in Europe, Chinese construction machinery enterprises are actively planning their layout. Three leading companies, Zoomlion, Sany Heavy Industry, and XCMG, have deeply integrated into the European market through acquisitions of overseas enterprises and construction of factories in Europe.

Taking the BMW exhibition in Germany in April this year as an example, 40% of the 7 categories and over 60 pieces of equipment exhibited by XCMG are new energy products. The full range of products has been green and electrified, building a new energy industry chain ecosystem of "complete products+core components+operation services"; Once star products such as Zoomlion's 72 meter "Europe's tallest" aerial work platform, R800-40 Europe's largest tonnage tower crane, 5G remote control intelligent excavator, and pure electric mixer truck were unveiled, they became the focus of attention on site.

Sany Heavy Industry's 11 electric products, which made their debut in Europe, have become the traffic center, covering all 7 categories of the exhibition. The innovative and advanced electric technology has attracted frequent likes from the audience.

Lovol Heavy Industries continues to increase investment in European research and development centers, forming a professional team to conduct in-depth analysis of European market demand.

By integrating the advantages of China's supply chain with the localization needs of Europe, we aim to develop more efficient and energy-saving products that meet European standards. The electric excavator FR18F-E and compact loader FL918 models showcased at the exhibition are the results of research and development aimed at the special working conditions of the European market.

It can be seen that leading construction machinery enterprises have shifted from "export trade" to "European operation", developing products that are adaptable to European working conditions and standards. At the same time, a large local dealer network and parts center have been established to provide timely after-sales service. This' in Europe, for Europe 'model greatly enhances customer trust and lays channels for the promotion of new energy products.

Of course, Chinese construction machinery companies are not on a smooth path to exploring the European market, which is a "blessed land". The barriers to entry in the European market are high, and Chinese companies have already or will soon face many challenges, so they must always remain clear headed.

In terms of brand building, although leading companies in the industry have achieved certain results in Europe, overall, Chinese brands still have a shallow accumulation in the European market. At industry events such as the BMW exhibition in Germany, international giants such as Caterpillar and Komatsu have crowded booths with strong brand appeal, while most Chinese brand booths are slightly quieter. Although European customers are concerned about Chinese equipment, they still have doubts when placing orders and make more cautious decisions.

Chinese brands still need to continue investing, using longer periods of time and more successful cases to reverse the stereotype of "mid to low end" brands and establish a new high-end and green brand image.

On the technical level, there is still a gap between Chinese enterprises and established European and American companies. Caterpillar has launched an upgraded version of the Cat 320 electric excavator and Hitachi Construction Machinery's ZE225 2PB pure electric excavator, which have shown outstanding performance in core technical indicators such as battery technology, endurance, and equipment intelligence. However, there is still significant room for improvement in the craftsmanship details and technical parameters of some Chinese exhibits compared to international brands.

In addition, with the increasing competitiveness of Chinese products, especially in the field of new energy, the anxiety of the local European industry is rising, which may drive the EU to launch new trade remedy investigations (such as anti subsidy investigations).

The European market has unlimited potential, and for Chinese companies aiming to lead the global transformation of new energy in construction machinery, its strategic value is irreplaceable. Although Chinese construction machinery enterprises have actively laid out and begun to show their strengths, in order to establish a foothold and expand their territory in this market, they still need to have greater strategic patience and higher wisdom, comprehensively localize and deeply cultivate from supply chain, research and development, manufacturing to service, truly integrate into the industrial ecology and social environment of Europe, break through numerous challenges, and achieve a magnificent transformation from "Made in China" to "world-class brand" in this arena of the highest global standards.