European market for air conditioners contracts

The air conditioning units that were examined for the study were those that were not intended for the private residential sector, but were installed in the commercial or public sector. The study was conducted in France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Great Britain and Poland. The examined product groups comprise chillers, rooftops, VFR, multi split and single split units. Natural refrigerants like hydrocarbons (290, 1270) and CO₂ are considerably gaining market share in air conditioning applications, but were not considered in the study.

 

 

The Euro crisis has not left the air conditioning market untouched. With the construction sector still struggling in countries like Spain or Italy, fewer new air conditioners are being installed as a result. In 2013, there were 3.7% less air conditioning units sold in France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Great Britain and Poland than in the previous year. As of 2015 the market is expected to recover with annual growth rates above 2,6%. However, average annual growth in terms of volume is expected to be only 0.3% in the period from 2012 through 2016. 

 

In terms of value, the industry turnover dropped by 2,1% in 2013 compared to 2012. Even if sales are expected to grow as of 2014, a low price level for the product category will also slow growth down. Compared to the 2.2 billion EUR in 2013 the market value is forecast to grow to 2.3 billion EUR in 2016. However, since prices will drop, any gains in sales will only help a little. If revenue grows at all it will be only weakly.

 

 

France is the largest of the countries examined in the study. About every fourth Euro is turned over there and the market is expected to grow slightly by 1.3% in value for 2013. Far worse is the situation in the important markets of Italy and Great Britain. Turnover in Italy will fall by 5.0%, and positive growth figures for Great Britain are not expected before 2015. In Germany, Interconnection expects slight growth, at a rate of 2.0% for the period from 2012 through 2016. 

 

The situation in Italy and Spain is influenced by the weakening construction industry in southern countries, which will not experience a quick renaissance. In economically stable countries such as Germany, air conditioning systems are generally less popular. 

 

 

According to the study, the ten largest companies in the air conditioning market combined took in more than 60% of the turnover in 2011. This figure increased to 61.3% in 2012. While the market is becoming increasingly concentrated, the users of air conditioning in Europe prefer indirect sales, i.e. via wholesalers and retailers. But different consumer preferences can be noticed: the British prefer to buy directly from the producers, but even there directly purchasing from the producer comprises only 25% of sales. Across all six countries examined in the study, indirect sales make up 78.5%, and this trend is rising, predicted to increase to 79.6% by 2016.