Export growth rate of solar inverters turned positive in April [SMM Analysis]

According to the customs data: In April 2024, China’s export volume of solar inverters was 4.3628 million units, down 11.5% YoY, and up 31% MoM; the import volume was 174,600 units, down 3.9% YoY, and up 2.1% MoM. The cumulative export volume for January-April 2024 was 14.6879 million units, down 26% YoY.

Zhejiang's cumulative export volume was 2.1597 million units (up 7.5% YoY, up 66.9% MoM), with major companies including Ginlong, Deye, Hoymiles, APsystems, and Aisolar;

Guangdong's cumulative export volume was 1.2952 million units (down 26% YoY, up 26.7% MoM), with major companies including Huawei, Growatt, Sungrow, Kstar, and Hopewind;

Jiangsu's cumulative export volume was 315,600 units (up 10.5% YoY, up 43.9% MoM), with major companies including GoodWe, Sungrow, and Aiswei;

Anhui's cumulative export volume was 66,500 units (down 38.8% YoY, down 0.7% MoM), with major companies being Sungrow's domestic base and GoodWe's Guangde factory.

In April 2024, solar inverters were exported to a total of 187 countries and regions. Exports to Europe totaled 844,300 units (19.4% share, up 38.2% MoM). Exports to Africa totaled 1.1271 million units (25.8% share, up 82% MoM). The top ten countries accounted for a total export volume of 1.937 million units (44.4% share).

The top five importer countries of China’s exports were the Netherlands, Brazil, the US, Senegal, and Pakistan. In April, export volume to the Netherlands was 317,200 units (up 14.7% MoM, down 49.3% YoY); export volume to Brazil was 266,600 units (up 32.3% MoM, up 160.5% YoY); the export volume to US was 234,000 units (up 51.5% MoM, down 31.6% YoY); export volume to Senegal was 232,800 units (up 527.7% MoM, up 245.7% YoY); export volume to Pakistan was 217,300 units (up 17.6% MoM, down 13.4% YoY).

In April 2024, the export volume of solar inverters continued to increase MoM, with strong demand and support from the European, African, and US markets. The European market's import scale increased MoM, driven by the peak demand season in Q2 and the stocking demand. Additionally, the inventory reduction in the European solar inverter industry is gradually improving, and the overall market demand is on a relatively stable upward trend. Household, commercial, and industrial solar inverters, as well as PV and storage inverters, are currently the main exports to Europe.

Driven by energy transition and power shortages, the PV installation in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa is rapidly increasing. In the Asian market, represented by Pakistan and India, the export growth rate remains high. In Pakistan, due to short-term power shortages and the rapid decline in the prices of PV modules and other products, the cost-effectiveness and urgency of PV power generation have become prominent. The Belt and Road economic cooperation between China and Pakistan has stimulated the development of the Pakistani PV market, making it more convenient for Chinese PV products to enter Pakistan. Both distributed and centralized demand in Pakistan have shown significant growth this year. In the African market, South Africa leads with a high growth rate in PV demand. In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and in Latin America, Brazil, the demand for string inverters has also improved.