An intense heatwave has caught European citizens off guard this year. The French Ministry of Education announced the closure of over 800 schools, some hospitals are overwhelmed, transportation has been repeatedly halted, and more dramatically, dozens of drowning deaths occurred in France within a week as people sought relief in water bodies to cool down.

Cooling has become a basic necessity for survival. Chinese home appliance brands, previously not widely known in Europe, have now become highly sought-after commodities with supply struggling to meet demand—sales have increased by more than 50%, with popular air conditioner models seeing sales double and inventories running critically low.

Several international energy agencies and European industry bodies predict that Europe will remain one of the world's fastest-growing mature markets for air conditioning over the coming decades.

In response to this phenomenon, multiple Chinese manufacturers have provided statements.

Xiong Xueqin, Director of Midea Air Conditioner's European region, confirmed that for 2026, their phenomenal hit product, the "Portable Split-type" air conditioner, has already shipped over 200,000 units, with sales doubling compared to last year. Facing a surge in orders, factories are working overtime to ramp up production and are utilizing the China-Europe Railway Express for delivery, which takes 15 to 25 days, shortening the transit time by 25 days compared to sea freight. Under normal circumstances, orders placed around April would take about three months from factory production, through transportation, to being available for sale on shelves. But now, the situation demands immediate action.

A TCL Europe staff member revealed, "We have also felt a significant surge in demand for portable air conditioners, and the market has very stringent requirements for delivery times, compressing the usual 30-40 day production cycle down to 10 days. Our logistics and transportation methods have shifted from sea and rail to direct truck transport from China to Europe."

Zhao Ali, European Product Manager for Midea Air Conditioners, stated frankly that the core advantages of Chinese companies going global, besides the strong manufacturing capacity and rapid response capability of 'Made in China' to quickly match explosive market demand, include the fact that Chinese enterprises have shifted from simple 'manufacturing output' to 'localized innovation and R&D,' enabling them to create truly differentiated products suited to local markets.

Additionally, driven by this trend, JD.com has also released relevant data, showing that sales of air conditioning products on its European retail brand Joybuy platform surged nearly 40-fold week-on-week compared to the first week of June. Among these, Midea's PortaSplit split-type air conditioners grew nearly 42-fold, floor fans increased over 80-fold, and neck fans soared over 120-fold.

Europeans in the Grip of the Heat

Over the past two weeks, temperatures in many parts of Europe have exceeded 40 degrees Celsius. Since late June, record-high temperatures have been set across multiple European countries, with many governments issuing heat warnings. The impact of this heatwave on Europe has been so severe that it has led to school closures, overcrowded hospitals, and transportation shutdowns. More dramatically, dozens of drowning deaths occurred in France within a week as people sought relief in water bodies to cool down.

During this period, a controversial incident also occurred in France. A week ago, the mayor of Paris's 17th arrondissement urgently ordered 50 Haier Electronics "portable air conditioners," received the shipment three days later, and immediately led a team to deliver the units to several Parisian schools. Temperatures in these public school classrooms reached as high as 44 degrees Celsius in the afternoon, making normal teaching impossible.

"I have two children. Although school wasn't canceled last week, we chose to keep the kids at home because the classrooms were simply too hot," said Christine, a French mother in Paris. Speaking about the mayor's delivery of air conditioners to schools, she expressed anger, saying, "The classrooms are stifling. Adults can't stand being inside for more than a few dozen minutes, and yet some are questioning who will pay for the schools' air conditioning electricity. Because of the extreme heat, many children are experiencing vomiting, diarrhea, and fevers."

On June 22, a day of fierce heatwave onslaught, the French Ministry of Education announced the closure of over 800 schools, with another 1,800 adjusting their schedules. By last week, approximately 13,000 schools across France (nearly a quarter of the national total) had to implement measures to reduce class hours.

Behind this number lies a harsh reality: the vast majority of France's roughly 60,000 schools have no air conditioning, with many classrooms measured at over 35 degrees Celsius indoors.

Overall household air conditioning penetration in Europe is only around 20%. Southern countries like Greece, Cyprus, and Malta have the highest fixed air conditioning penetration, nearing 100%. Spain and southern Italy have penetration rates of 40% to 70%, while France, Belgium, and the Netherlands have slightly lower rates of 30% to 15%. The lowest are Germany and the UK, with residential fixed air conditioning penetration at 3% to 10%.

International energy agencies and European industry bodies all predict that Europe will remain one of the world's fastest-growing mature markets for air conditioning over the coming decades.

Currently, about 80% of European households still lack air conditioning, meaning Europe is not a "replacement market" but a massive "first-time installation" market. This is a key reason why companies including Midea, Haier, Gree, and Daikin have been intensifying their focus on Europe in recent years.

Until a decade ago, Paris had very few days where temperatures truly exceeded 35 degrees. Furthermore, a large portion of French housing consists of old buildings or apartment blocks. To maintain aesthetic integrity, installing outdoor units requires approval from homeowners' associations, and some historical buildings completely prohibit air conditioning installation.

If these are objective factors, subjective influences cannot be ignored either. Culturally, France has long emphasized natural ventilation and using walls and shutters for insulation.

For a long time, a common perception has been that air conditioners are high-energy-consuming devices, and installing one implies being "not environmentally friendly."

However, over the past two years, a clear turning point has emerged in French attitudes. Jean-Marc, a French resident living in the French Alps, stated that they installed a "portable air conditioner" last year, which required a pipe to exhaust hot air, necessitating a window modification to create an opening for the pipe. Otherwise, indoor temperatures reached 36 degrees during heatwaves, making sleep impossible even at night. As a traditional French person, he admitted, "I never thought I'd buy an air conditioner."

Because temperatures in many areas have consecutively broken 40 degrees, with high nighttime temperatures becoming more common, demand for cooling in hospitals, schools, and nursing homes has rapidly increased—these new developments have led to record-breaking sales for portable and split-type air conditioners.

Addressing the Supply Crunch

A European heatwave has elevated Chinese "cooling devices" to legendary status. Customs data shows: China's air conditioner exports to the EU in the first half of this year increased by 43.2% year-on-year, with various Chinese brands reporting frequent successes.

Among them, Midea Air Conditioner has garnered the most discussion. Their "Portable Split-type" (PortaSplit), exclusively developed for Europe, has become the most sought-after product on the market currently. Xiong Xueqin, Director of Midea Air Conditioner's European region, confirmed that for 2026, shipments of this hit product have exceeded 200,000 units, with sales doubling compared to last year. Facing the order surge, factories are working overtime and utilizing the China-Europe Railway Express for delivery.

Other Chinese air conditioner brands including Hisense, Haier Electronics, TCL, and Gree have also reaped significant sales benefits from their traditional "portable air conditioners," with some even reaching sold-out status.

Hisense Group confirmed: In the first six months of this year, Hisense air conditioner sales in Western Europe increased by over 20% year-on-year, with the French market growing over 100%. Furthermore, Hisense's portable air conditioners have been consistently selling out in multiple European countries like Italy and Spain, creating a situation where "supply cannot meet demand."

Similarly, TCL Group stated: From January to June this year, TCL air conditioner orders in Europe increased 68% year-on-year, with shipments up 62%. Orders for its two main categories, household portable air conditioners and inverter split-type air conditioners, increased over 90% year-on-year, far exceeding the industry average. Since June this year, the Northwestern European market has already doubled.

As a leading force in China's air conditioning industry, from January to June 2026, Gree's end-user sales in France saw a significant 50% year-on-year increase, with the French market's end-user sales growing by half. Gree Group confirmed that their air conditioner inventories in France, Spain, and Portugal are all at low levels, with installation schedules in France already pushed back to the end of August this year.

Similarly, from January to June this year, TCL air conditioner orders in Europe increased 68% year-on-year, with shipments up 62%. Orders for its main categories increased over 90% year-on-year. Since June, growth has been relatively steady, with the Northwestern European market already doubling. Markets like the UK, France, and Germany are growing rapidly, with installation-free portable air conditioners being the bestsellers, followed by commercial units like heat pumps and multi-split systems.

Wei Chi, European Marketing Manager at Hisense Global Marketing Center, also confirmed that the heat arrived relatively late in Europe this year, with a sudden intense spike in the past half-month directly causing tight supplies of portable air conditioners in Italy, the Czech Republic, Poland, and elsewhere. In response, they have been allocating stock across European regions on one hand and placing rush orders on the other.

The facts prove that in the face of absolute high temperatures, any device that can provide cooling can be revered. The heatwave has directly triggered a surge in demand for previously "niche" air conditioning products, with Chinese air conditioners emerging as the biggest winners.

Delivery Personnel Installing Seven Units a Day

A TCL representative clearly stated that European consumers are relatively conservative with high brand loyalty, and traditional Japanese brands have a first-mover advantage. However, younger European demographics are gradually becoming more accepting of Chinese brands, especially with JD.com's significant entry into European countries, which has improved logistics efficiency while also expanding sales channels for Chinese brands.

Data from JD.com shows that sales of air conditioning products on its European retail brand Joybuy platform surged nearly 40-fold week-on-week compared to the first week of June. The European heatwave coincided with Joybuy's Summer Black Friday promotion, driving rapid growth in demand for various cooling products. Among these, Midea's PortaSplit split-type air conditioners grew nearly 42-fold, floor fans increased over 80-fold, and neck fans soared over 120-fold.

A Joybuy responsible person stated: "We always prioritize ensuring user demand. Currently, we are accelerating restocking for popular cooling goods like air conditioners. Procurement is actively coordinating supply and stock preparation with upstream brands, expecting more air conditioners to arrive in the coming weeks." He revealed that JD.com has already established local warehousing and a JoyExpress delivery system in Europe, enabling fastest next-day delivery. Frontline warehouse and delivery personnel are currently working at full capacity to ensure delivery and installation services for goods like air conditioners, with "some delivery personnel installing up to 7 air conditioners and fans in a single day from 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM."

A staff member from a Chinese air conditioner brand in Europe privately disclosed that stocking portable air conditioners always involves an element of "gambling." It's basically about preparing stock with distributors based on past stocking rhythms and quantities. If a sudden heatwave like this year's occurs, supply falls short of demand. Conversely, if summer temperatures are low, the cost of excess inventory can sometimes even exceed the value of the goods themselves. Therefore, supplies of portable air conditioners are often kept tight.

However, even under such complex circumstances, Chinese brands have never given up on the challenging EU market, proactively working in recent years to launch products best suited for localization.

To penetrate the EU market, Chinese brands have made numerous innovative adjustments. Their precise product design almost meticulously aligns with every EU regulation and consideration of the EU's own cultural background.

Wei Chi stated that Hisense is increasing localized R&D efforts targeting consumer demands in different global markets. Innovations like window and portable air conditioners have been well-received in North America, and split-type air conditioners that are easy to install and clean have been launched for the European market. "For example, the new Uni series platform mainly balances capacity, energy efficiency, and installation/maintenance difficulty, simplifying installation processes and improving efficiency. Additionally, this year Europe launched the high-efficiency and intelligent premium new product Air Master (U8), which meets local consumers' high-end demands while supporting the Hisense brand's overseas development."

Regardless, the group indicated that to create a hit product in Europe's high-temperature market, besides product performance, it is essential to provide dedicated solutions for numerous installation challenges in the European market, such as building protection policies, strict installation approvals, and high installation costs.

Four Core Pain Points in the European Market

The air conditioner product that has taken Europe by storm this year, sparking numerous discussions on social media and facing supply shortages, is a portable split-type (PortaSplit) air conditioner specially developed by Midea Group for Europe and "exclusively supplied" there. The biggest feature of this product is that it does not require damaging walls to install an outdoor unit, yet it delivers the cooling effect of a split-type system.

Xiong Xueqin explained that the product's development初衷 was to address the market pain point of frequent heatwaves but low air conditioning penetration in Europe. The需求 was first identified and proposed by the local European team, developed in collaboration with domestic R&D teams and an Italian industrial design team, with an overall R&D cycle lasting three years.

He believes there are currently four core pain points in the European market. The foremost is high installation cost—traditional split-type installation fees in Western European countries can reach 1,000 to 2,000 euros. Second is a shortage of installers during peak season, with wait times for appointments stretching to two weeks or even a month, often missing the summer usage period. Third is too many building restrictions, with many old apartments and historically protected buildings prohibiting drilling on exterior walls. Finally, there are limitations in rental scenarios, such as a large renting population where tenants无权 to私自 alter building structures to install air conditioning.

Zhao Ali补充说 that current solutions in the European market are severely polarized—split systems offer good体验 but are too costly and difficult to install; portable air conditioners are low-priced (two to three hundred euros) but have poor cooling效果 and are noisy. Their "portable split" system requires no drilling, no professional installation, can be moved easily, and retains comfort levels接近 to traditional split systems.

Xiong Xueqin坦言 that with the recent集中爆发 of demand, the channel cooperation model has shifted from requiring Midea to actively expand, to "channels actively requesting stock."

Previously, the market普遍认为 that low European air conditioning penetration was an "insoluble structural barrier"—high installation costs, historical building facade prohibitions—implying limited long-term growth potential.

But Midea's case seems to have opened a breach. They circumvented the installation barrier, converting previously unreachable renters and historical building residents into effective demand, effectively opening up an incremental market worth tens of millions of units.

The long-term growth logic for the European air conditioning business has shifted from "slow penetration" to "category innovation-driven rapid penetration," significantly increasing both growth space and certainty.

Midea Group responded that previously, the海外 brand value of Midea had never been quantified by the capital market. After PortaSplit became a社会级爆品 in Europe, Midea leaped from being an "unknown factory" to an "innovative brand solving民生痛点." The brand influence has even溢出 to全品类 like refrigerators, washing machines, and heat pumps, reducing market education costs for subsequent products.

"The core启示 for Chinese enterprises going global this time is that only by respecting local culture and genuinely solving本地 consumers' real needs can they gain global market recognition. Chinese enterprises already possess the capability to upgrade from 'manufacturing出海' to 'innovation出海,' and can break overseas markets'代工刻板印象 of Chinese brands through original products," Xiong Xueqin concluded.