Automation technology has always been one of the key engines of China's industrial development. In this process of continuous progress, programmable logic controller (PLC), as a star in the field of automation, plays a vital role. In recent years, with the rapid development of industrial automation, the PLC market has gradually shown a new look and potential.
Small PLC market: the subtleties reveal the wonderful
Small PLCs are mainly used in the OEM market due to their high cost-effectiveness and ease of use, such as textile machinery, packaging machinery, lifting machinery, and food machinery. According to 2020 data, in the market structure of small PLC application industries in China, textile machinery, packaging machinery, and machine tools accounted for 19%, 16%, and 13%, respectively, indicating that the market is widely distributed and the concentration is relatively dispersed.
Medium and large PLC market: Steadily leading the future
Compared with small PLCs , medium and large PLCs are mainly used in project-based markets, such as the automotive, metallurgical, electric power, chemical, and building materials industries. These applications have higher requirements for product safety, reliability, stability, and network communication capabilities. Data from 2020 shows that medium and large PLCs account for 51.20% of the market in China, of which the chemical industry accounts for more than half.
China PLC market: local controller manufacturers have a very low market share
In the global PLC market, controller manufacturers such as Siemens, Mitsubishi Electric, Omron, Schneider and ABB have long dominated. In 2023, Siemens ranked first with a market share of about 40%, with revenue reaching 77.8 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 11%. Others such as Rockwell Automation, Omron, Schneider Electric, etc. also occupy an important position in the global PLC market.
In contrast, the Chinese PLC market is more complex and diversified. China PLC manufacturers can be roughly divided into project-based and product-based, serving discrete industry automation and process industry automation respectively.
In the domestic market, data from 2020 shows that large and medium-sized PLCs account for 51.20%, and small PLCs account for 48.80%. European and American controller manufacturers account for a large share of the Chinese market, reaching 63%, Japanese brands account for 26%, and local brands account for only 11%. The China PLC market share is mainly occupied by international giants such as Siemens, Mitsubishi, Omron, and Rockwell. Among them, Siemens has a comprehensive market share of over 40% in the China PLC market , and the second largest brand Mitsubishi has a market share of 14%.
The rise of China PLCs in the market is also worth noting. For example, Liancheng Technology, with its technical strength and rich product lines, has PLC products covering various specifications from small to large, which can meet the needs of different industrial scenarios and is becoming an important player in the China PLC market .
The current Chinese PLC market is in a critical period of rapid development. Both micro and medium-sized and large PLCs play a unique role in their respective specific market positioning and application areas, forming a distinct market positioning.
However, faced with the strong position of European, American and Japanese brands in China, Chinese PLC manufacturers still need to increase investment in technological research and development, improve product performance and service quality, and further explore and expand market space.
