FRANKFURT, July 1 — By Monday afternoon, the air-conditioning aisle at an electronics store in Germany’s Frankfurt had been picked almost clean. Only a display model of a Midea portable air conditioner remained, already spoken for, as an employee prepared to box it up for its buyer.
Two shoppers arrived moments later, looking for the Chinese company’s PortaSplit after failing to find one online. They left empty-handed. As Europe sweats through another scorching summer, Chinese makers of cooling equipment are finding demand running well ahead of supply. The scene points to a broader shift in Europe’s cooling market, as repeated heatwaves push more households to seek immediate and easy-to-install solutions.
HEATWAVE FUELS COOLING BOOM
Since late June, an extraordinary heatwave in Europe has shattered numerous temperature records, with more than 1,300 excess deaths reported. On Joybuy, JD.com’s European online retail brand, air-conditioner sales surged nearly 40 times during the June 19-25 heatwave compared with the first week of June, company data showed. Midea PortaSplit sales rose nearly 42 times, while floor fan sales jumped more than 80 times and neck fan sales more than 120 times.
In France, customers have been queuing before opening time at Chinese consumer electronics and technology company Xiaomi’s store in Paris in the hope of buying electric fans. The surge, recorded for the week of June 21-28 compared with the previous week, saw foot traffic rise 84 percent and overall sales increase 79 percent. “From May to June, fan sales increased by 48 percent year-on-year. Demand currently exceeds supply, and newly restocked fans on Xiaomi’s online store in France typically sell out within half a day,” a Xiaomi representative told Xinhua.
For decades, air conditioning was not considered a necessity in many European homes. In countries such as Germany, France and Britain, many consumers used to see hot weather as a brief summer episode. That perception is changing as heatwaves become more frequent, intense and persistent. The World Meteorological Organization has warned that Europe is the fastest-warming continent, with temperatures rising at around twice the global average rate, affecting human health, ecosystems, agriculture, infrastructure and labor productivity. “Extreme heat is emerging as a structural economic risk, with Europe highly exposed,” Credit insurer Allianz Trade said in a recent report.
Many buildings in Europe were not designed with extreme heat in mind, the report said, noting that only 19 percent of European households have air conditioning, compared with 90 percent in the United States. As heatwaves become more frequent, cooling is increasingly a matter of health as much as comfort, particularly for older people, children and those with chronic illnesses. Yet demand does not automatically translate into conventional air conditioners. Much of Europe’s housing is old, rental rates are high in many cities, and installing a fixed split system often requires a landlord’s consent or compliance with building rules governing facades, noise and shared spaces. Even where permission is granted, installation can be costly and slow. The result is a fast-growing market for portable and easy-to-install cooling products that bypass many of those constraints.
TACKLING HOUSING CONSTRAINTS
If Europe’s heatwaves are creating demand for cooling, its housing stock is shaping what people actually buy. Many residential buildings are old and were not designed for air-conditioning systems. In rented homes, installing a conventional split unit often requires a landlord’s approval, while building rules, noise concerns and restrictions on altering facades can present additional obstacles. Even where installation is permitted, consumers may face high costs and long waiting times.
Those constraints have created an opportunity for products tailored to European housing realities. After a pilot launch in 2024, Chinese home appliance maker Midea rolled out its PortaSplit mobile split air conditioner across Europe in 2025. Designed to avoid drilling and permanent structural changes, the product quickly sold out through some retail channels. Second-hand listings reportedly reached about 3,000 euros (3,400 U.S. dollars), more than three times its retail price of 999 euros (about 1,000 dollars). The popularity has also been reflected online. As this year’s heat arrived earlier than usual, e-commerce platforms and social media groups have seen growing numbers of consumers asking about restocking, sharing user experiences and searching for available units. “The product is designed to avoid drilling and complicated construction as much as possible,” said Tobias Strobel, head of technical innovation for residential air conditioning at Midea’s German R&D Center. It requires no professional installation, while its mounting bracket fits a range of European window styles, including roof windows, French windows and balconies.
A German renter told Xinhua he had wanted to install an air conditioner for years but never obtained his landlord’s approval. Even with permission, he said, neighbors’ concerns over noise and changes to a building’s appearance would still need to be addressed. This year’s prolonged heat finally pushed him to seek an alternative that could be installed without modifying the property. Installation bottlenecks are also emerging. A Spanish air-conditioning dealer said waiting times, normally around three days, have stretched to about 10 days as demand has surged. In parts of Germany, installing a traditional split system can take months. For Chinese manufacturers, that suggests that developing in Europe increasingly requires more than manufacturing capacity or competitive pricing. Success depends on designing products around local housing conditions, regulations and consumer habits.
COOLING SUPPLY CHAIN
However, delivering physical products is only half the battle. As demand spreads from one product to a wider range of cooling goods, the ability to deliver quickly has become another part of the competition.
Chinese-made fans, ice makers, mobile air conditioners and smart temperature-control devices are moving quickly through e-commerce platforms and local warehouses. Stable cross-border transport, local warehousing and last-mile delivery are becoming crucial in helping turn supply into faster delivery for households. Logistics links such as the China-Europe Railway Express have provided steady support for cross-border supply chains. To meet surging demand for air conditioners, fans and ice makers, Chinese enterprises are using local warehouse networks in Europe to speed up turnover, replenish stock and shorten delivery times. Backed by JD.com’s local warehousing network in Europe and its JoyExpress delivery system, large home appliances ordered on Joybuy can be delivered as soon as the next day. The platform also confirms housing layouts before delivery and provides services including delivery, installation, removal of old machines and recycling of used equipment.
Seif, a Paris-based Joybuy delivery worker, said that during peak demand he recently delivered and installed seven air conditioners and fans between 7:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. “Many customers were surprised by our delivery speed,” he said. A Joybuy representative said the platform is accelerating replenishment of cooling products and working with upstream suppliers to secure inventory. Efforts are also underway to stabilize prices as demand remains elevated. Joybuy’s services now cover more than 30 major European cities, including London and Birmingham in Britain, Paris in France, Cologne and Dusseldorf in Germany, and Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands.As Europe’s climate warms, cooling products are increasingly shifting from seasonal purchases to essential household equipment. For Chinese companies, the challenge is no longer only manufacturing at scale, but integrating production with local logistics, after-sales service and rapid distribution in overseas markets.
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