Compared with the scale of the refrigerator and freezer industry of more than 120 million units, the car refrigerator industry, especially the compressor car refrigerator industry, can be said to be a niche market, according to industry online statistics, the sales scale of compressor car refrigerators in China in 2023 will be 4.15 million units. Although the overall scale is only a fraction of that of the ice industry, in terms of growth, car refrigerators are far ahead in many sub-categories, and have maintained double-digit growth for eight consecutive years.
2014-2023 car refrigerator industry sales scale trend (10,000 units)
An important reason for the rapid growth of car refrigerators is that the industry started late and has a low base. But at the same time, with the growth of the global economy, the improvement of consumption levels and the development of downstream application markets such as cars, trucks, and RVs, the demand for car refrigerators in domestic and foreign markets is growing. In addition, due to the product life problem caused by the attenuation of electronic semiconductor car refrigerators, the replacement of semiconductor products by compressor car refrigerators has also become a major trend in the development of the industry.
At present, car refrigerator enterprises are mainly concentrated in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong, and the mainstream enterprises are Aikai, Indel, Meigu Electronics, Oulun, Gegu, Yutong, etc., the industry concentration is very high, and the market share of TOP5 enterprises accounts for more than eighty percent. Out of optimism about the market, some companies have rapidly expanded their production capacity in recent years, and it is expected that by 2025, the production capacity of compressor car refrigerators may double compared with 2019.
In the future, driven by the rapid development of new energy vehicles, it is expected that car refrigerators will continue to maintain rapid growth. According to industry online, many car companies, including BYD and Chery, have considered standardizing on-board refrigerators on a variety of models, and the front-loading market for on-board refrigerators will achieve significant growth.
From the perspective of compressor application, the car refrigerator is equipped with a DC compressor, which is also the main application scenario of the current DC compressor, and a small number of DC compressors are used in marine refrigerators, aircraft refrigerators, solar refrigerators and other frontier fields.
In recent years, with the rapid development of new energy vehicles and the increase in consumer demand for self-driving tours and outdoor activities, more development opportunities have been brought to the field of car refrigerators. Some home appliance companies and even downstream car companies have joined the car refrigerator track, which has also promoted the rapid development of DC compressors, the core components of the upstream.
According to industry online statistics, the sales volume of DC compressors in China will be close to 4.8 million units in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 20%. In the future, with the growth of demand, it is expected that the DC compressor will continue to maintain a large growth.
The main enterprises that produce DC compressors in mainland China are Sicop, Arnoldan, Wangu, GMCC, Changhong Huayi, Dongbei, Qianjiang, Medi, Baixue, Taizhou LG, Danfu, Asbella, New Neon, etc. During the 2024 China Refrigeration Exhibition, mainstream brands such as Changhong Huayi, Secop, GMCC, Dongbei, Qianjiang, Danfu, Medi, and Arnoldan have exhibited corresponding DC compressor products, which are summarized here:
Changhong Huayi
Changhong Huayi brought a variety of DC products to the refrigeration exhibition, the main exhibits include high-efficiency, silent, high-reliability R134a and R290 DC inverter refrigeration compressors, the products can cover the speed range of 2000~4000RPM, to meet the application requirements of refrigeration appliances such as car refrigerators, ice machines, water dispensers, etc.
Secop
The BD Nano compressor exhibited by Secop weighs only 1.5 kg, has a height of only 9.3 cm, has an energy consumption ratio of 1.53 W/W, and operates with very low noise. The new generation of electronic controllers (ECUs) enables precise control and provides users with a wide range of electronic interface functions. BD Nano compressors are not only used in all types of passenger cars, but also in trucks, buses, recreational vehicles and boats.
GMCC
In the field of mobile refrigeration, Meizhi's vehicle-mounted micro DC compressor has the advantages of extreme low noise, miniaturization and high reliability, and can be widely used in mobile vehicle scenarios such as car refrigerators, RV refrigerators, medical boxes, and portable cases. Meizhi's on-board micro DC inverter compressor won the title of "2024 China Refrigeration Exhibition Innovative Products", and DE17M1P, DE25M7P and other on-board micro DC compressor products were displayed during the refrigeration exhibition.
Dongbei
Dongbei exhibited VC13EZ refrigeration compressor, this compressor is R134a compressor, with the advantages of small size, light weight, low noise, low vibration, high reliability, etc., with a displacement of 1.3cc, a refrigeration capacity of 32W, and a COP of 1.08W/W, suitable for 12/24V DC power supply. Dongbei VC series is mainly used in car refrigerators, solar refrigerators, mobile refrigerators, etc., and is compatible with L/MBP working conditions.
Qianjiang
Qianjiang exhibited 3 series of DC on-board compressors, 18 models, including R134a, R600a, refrigerant, can meet the needs of the vast majority of pre-installation and after-installation customers. The newly launched VVDC micro DC inverter compressor, the weight of the whole machine is < 1.5kg (excluding controller), the height is <110mm (including rubber pad), the new DC motor technology is adopted, the operating noise: <30dB/@0.5m, the product adapts to the low voltage of 12V/24V, and can meet the start-up and operation requirements of 55°C high ambient temperature.
Dan Fu
The DC compressor exhibited by Danfu company this time has been specially designed to cope with special working conditions such as high ambient temperature and harsh mobile road conditions, with the characteristics of low noise and high reliability, and is suitable for refrigeration working fluids such as R134a and R600a, and is widely used in mobile refrigeration fields such as vehicle and marine refrigerators, as well as terminal products such as solar refrigerators/freezers.
Mcgrady
Medi showcased a variety of DC compressors such as QDZH20G and QDZY30G, which are suitable for 12-24V DC power supply, and can be used in refrigerated cabinets in mobile equipment such as cars, trucks, buses, covered vans, buses, boats, etc.