In recent years, the internationalization pace of China's construction machinery industry has continued to accelerate. Data shows that China has become the world's largest producer and seller of construction machinery. From 2020 to 2025, the export scale of the construction machinery industry has achieved nearly three times growth. In the first half of the year, the export value of construction machinery in China was 34.373 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 21.7%. Among them, a batch of small-sized domestic mechanical equipment has gained high popularity in overseas markets.
Freight tricycles, small tractors, micro excavators... These "small" equipment aim at the actual needs of overseas users, with technological innovation, supply chain collaboration, and market services advancing simultaneously, becoming a vivid reflection of Chinese manufacturing competing for speed, price, and quality in segmented tracks.
In a rural area of Zimbabwe, 31 year old Anna Popoho drove a Chinese made freight tricycle. The local road conditions are poor, making it difficult for large trucks to enter the village. Anna used a freight tricycle to purchase agricultural products, then sold them in the market, and even led the women in the village to join the transportation team.
The story of this overseas user left a deep impression on Li Ming, the chairman of Chongqing Beiyi Automotive Industry Co., Ltd. In many overseas markets, tricycles are not only a means of transportation, but also a production tool, "Li Ming said. During research, companies found that rural areas in Africa, orchards in Southeast Asia, and farms in Latin America all have similar characteristics: narrow roads, poor road conditions, high vehicle costs, and strong demand for short distance transportation. However, pickups and trucks cannot enter or use them, and two wheelers cannot transport goods. The application of tricycles in many scenarios cannot be replaced by four wheeled vehicles, nor can it be solved by two wheeled vehicles
Equip vehicles with reinforced chassis and easier to maintain structures to address issues such as high temperatures, dust, and poor road conditions in Africa; In response to issues such as narrow tree spacing in Southeast Asian orchards, the company has developed small car bodies, narrow cargo hoppers, and vehicle models with lifting functions; In some Latin American markets, users value cargo space and endurance more, and companies adjust the configuration of carriages, power, and batteries around scenarios such as agricultural cargo transportation and small vendor operations.
In the past, we mainly sold cars, but now we need to first ask customers where to use them, how to use them, and what problems to solve. User demand has driven exports first. In 2025, Chongqing Beiyi will export 80000 tricycles, and in the first half of this year, exports have already approached 50000.
At the entrance of the warehouse of Zhejiang Sifang Group Co., Ltd. in Yongkang City, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, small tractors are neatly arranged and about to be sent overseas. Not far away, the ongoing online live broadcast has attracted many African and Southeast Asian merchants through overseas social platforms.
Don't be fooled by its small size, it's not bad at working. "The handheld tractor introduced in the live broadcast room can be used for" multiple purposes ", and the rear can be replaced with dozens of agricultural tools for rotary tillage, sowing, harvesting, etc., just like building blocks. It is particularly suitable for small fields in hilly and mountainous areas for various operations. Nowadays, the export volume of this tractor accounts for more than 60% of the same sub category in the country.
Sifang Group specializes in small tractors ranging from 12 horsepower to 40 horsepower, with an annual production of about 25000 small tractors, which are exported to regions such as Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia. By 2025, the company's agricultural machinery exports will reach 540 million yuan, and the export value of hand guided tractors will lead the country.
To make good products go global, we need to 'follow the local customs when in Rome,' "said Yu Feng, chairman of Zhejiang Sifang Group. For example, in Indonesia, where the land is soft, we need to widen the tractor tracks; Suriname has a high workload, so the water circulation system has been upgraded; The climate in Vietnam is hot, and the diesel engine water circulation system is prone to "boiling". The R&D team has improved and launched a small tracked rotary tiller to solve the heat dissipation pain point, and the product is in short supply.
In Yongkang, it is common for small agricultural machinery enterprises to be busy going abroad.
Xingyue Group has developed the "Xingyue God" high-speed rice transplanter for hilly areas, with a width of only 1.2 meters and a weight of about 200 kilograms. It is designed specifically for narrow terraced fields and is suitable for agricultural landforms in Southeast Asia and other regions. Hu Dingkun, CEO of Xingyue Group, said that by 2025, the company's tractor products will sell 5000 units in foreign trade, of which more than half will be sold to the European market.
Yongkang currently has over 1600 agricultural machinery and parts manufacturing enterprises, as well as 157 industrial enterprises above designated size. As a nationally renowned hardware industry base, nearly 90% of the components can be locally matched, thus quickly responding to overseas customers' "small batch, multi batch, customized" order needs. Yongkang has also built a pilot platform for agricultural machinery and equipment in hilly and mountainous areas of Zhejiang Province, providing enterprises with a full chain service from conceptual design to small-scale production. By combining digital simulation with physical verification, the product development cycle is significantly shortened. The agricultural machinery and equipment cluster in the hilly and mountainous areas of Jinhua and Taizhou, with Yongkang as the focus, has been selected as the fourth batch of national advanced manufacturing clusters, with exports of agricultural machinery and equipment exceeding 30 billion yuan.
At the Global Cross border E-commerce Distribution Center for Construction Machinery in Jining High tech Zone, Shandong Province, foreign merchants gathered in front of rows of brand new and shiny micro excavators to inquire about performance and compare prices.
In the first half of this year, our company's total sales of micro excavators were 25800 units, of which more than 80% came from overseas orders, "said Gao Shengtao, Deputy General Manager of Shandong Lipai Machinery Group Co., Ltd. The company has set up four self operated overseas warehouses in Europe and other places, and customers can receive goods in as fast as 3 days and as slow as 7 days, saving 15 to 20 days in logistics cycle compared to the past.
As of now, there are over 70 small construction machinery enterprises in Jining High tech Zone, and their export volume has maintained rapid growth in recent years. In the first half of this year, the export value of small construction machinery in Jining High tech Zone was 2.77 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 45%.
European and American users purchase micro excavators, which are mostly used for courtyard maintenance and small-scale farm operations. The core requirements are compact body size and easy operation, "said Gao Shengtao. The company closely follows the differentiated needs of overseas scenarios, constantly strives to" make fine and small ", deeply cultivates the lightweight technology track, and continues to enrich the product matrix. Currently, it can produce more than 10 series and more than 1000 specifications of micro excavator products.
To break through the technological bottleneck, multiple local factories are collaborating to tackle the problem. The multi way valve, as the "heart" of the excavator hydraulic system, is difficult to adapt to micro devices due to its large size in conventional models. With the joint efforts of multiple host manufacturers, a multi way valve with reduced volume and stable quality has been successfully developed. The multi way valve we produce currently has a local procurement rate of over 90% for complete machines in Jining, and the local matching rate for mainstream small and micro models ranging from 1 ton to 8 tons is close to 100%, "said Yang Mao, Deputy General Manager of Shandong Taifeng Intelligent Control Co., Ltd.