The 10th edition of bauma China is set to take place from 24 to 27 November 2020 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC). With less than a year before the show opens, preparations are now progressing at full speed.

Since it was launched in 2002, bauma China has developed into the largest and most important industry event in Asia. A total of 3,350 exhibitors from 38 countries and regions participated in the previous edition – which took place in November 2018 – showcasing their companies and products to over 212,000 visitors from Asia and all over the world.

The next edition in 2020 is once again set to occupy the entire exhibition space available, around 330,000 sq m in total. “The current registration figures are significantly higher than they were at this point in time for the previous event in terms of the number of exhibitors and the amount of exhibition space that has been reserved,” said Maritta Lepp, bauma China exhibition director.

‘Digitalisation and automation’

According to the show organiser Messe München, bauma China will continue along the path already laid down by bauma in Munich (held in April 2019)  in terms of current topics and innovative developments – digitalisation and automation are the main drivers of development in the construction machinery industry. As such, smart and low-emission machines and vehicles with integrated digital solutions will feature heavily at bauma China 2020.

A leap in terms of technological development is also expected as a result of further tightening of emission standards for unroadworthy diesel vehicles, which China has announced will be introduced at the end of 2020. Construction machinery that meets the new standards will be displayed at bauma China and corresponding updates will be provided for older machinery.

Continuing market development

The construction industry reportedly continues to be one of the main pillars of growth in China, registering an increase in production value in the first half of 2019 of 7.2% compared to the same period the year before (entire year of 2018: +9.9%). As part of this, the government is continuing to implement infrastructure measures. UBS predicts that, in the end, state infrastructure investment will have risen by more than 10% for 2019. Swifter approval of projects and the increased use of public-private partnership (PPP) models should further energise infrastructure development.

Some of the main focus areas of the infrastructure measures include the expansion of inner-city transport systems, urban utilities, power transmission, environmental projects, logistics, 5G and rural infrastructure projects. Furthermore, reports suggest that investments in artificial intelligence and in the Internet of Things (IoT) will be promoted as ‘new’ infrastructure endeavours. The classic expansion and upgrading of roads, railways and air travel is continuing regardless.

As such, the construction machinery industry registered very impressive sales figures once again in 2018. Growing demand is also benefiting international construction machinery manufacturers. Imports of construction machinery rose overall in 2018 by 13.9% compared to the previous year to US$ 5.5 billion. According to Chinese customs statistics, deliveries from Germany accounted for imports with a total value of US$ 0.9 billion, a 12.1% increase compared to the previous year.

The Chinese industry association projects that, in the end, 2019 will be characterised by stable growth, albeit not as high as in the past. There is apparently a clear trend for replacement investments and demand is gravitating towards high-quality models.

(Source: GTAI)

Registration is now open until the end of February 2020: www.bauma-china.com/application