ShareRefrigerated vehicle sales in China increased by 27% in 2019
Cold chain logistics in China are expected to expand over the next few years.
The refrigerated vehicle market is performing well in China, according to statistics from the Cold Chain Logistics Committee of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP). There were 214,700 refrigerated vehicles in China in 2019, representing a year-on-year increase of 19%. Sales in 2019 were 27% higher than in 2018, with 45,000 units sold. More than half of these sales were light trucks, the most frequently sold in China. [1]
Refrigerated vehicles are gradually evolving towards either heavy-duty or light-duty vehicles. Indeed, in 2019, the country gained 9,058 heavy-duty lorries, 3,205 mid-sized trucks, 18,345 light vehicles and 2,092 micro-sized cars. [2] However, regular refrigerated semi-trailers are expected to gradually become more widespread. Other trends in the development of the refrigerated vehicle industry are functionalization and higher technological content.
Overall, China’s cold storage and refrigerated vehicle segments are both expected to grow at double-digit rate over the next few years, according to CFLP. Supported by the development of the food industry, both markets have been growing at an annual rate of 10%-20% since 2010. Between 2018 and 2019, China’s cold storage capacity increased by 14%. [2] However, facilities in the producing regions are still inadequate. Higher traceability in cold chain logistics is required, particularly to ensure food safety. Additionally, the refrigerated container segment is expected to grow exponentially as multimodal transport becomes popular.