2025 China Motor Industry Review: High Efficiency, Intelligence, and Diversified Applications Drive New Industrial Transformation [SMM Analysis]

In 2025, driven by the deepening "dual carbon" goals and the emergence of new industries, China's motor industry continued to expand. According to reliable statistics, the annual market size of China's motor industry exceeded 350 billion yuan, up rapidly YoY.

Profound changes occurred in the industry's internal structure:The growth rate of high-end niche marketswas significantly higher than that of traditional motor sectors. High efficiency, intelligence, and green transformation are no longer just technological trends but have become thresholds for enterprise survival and competition.

1. Traditional Retrofitting + Emerging Increments Drive the Development of China's Motor Industry

In 2025, China's motor industry presented a dual-drive pattern of "Traditional Retrofitting + Emerging Increments". In traditional sectors, demand for equipment renewal in high-energy-consumption industries continued to be released, with the replacement of outdated motors and energy efficiency improvements becoming mainstream in the market. At the policy level, carbon quota constraints and carbon tax mechanisms prompted enterprises to prioritize motor energy efficiency upgrades in their technological transformations.

Emerging sectors demonstrated even stronger growth momentum.Rapid development in industries such as new energy vehicles (NEVs), industrial robots, and the low-altitude economyspurred differentiated demand for special motors and precision control motors. The market demand structure is transitioning from basic to advanced and high-end levels.

The logic of market competition has fundamentally shifted from competing solely on price and capacity to a comprehensive contest of technology, quality, cost control, and management efficiency. Third-party drive motor companies like INOVANCE Automotive and Jing-Jin Electric delivered impressive performance, with some enterprises reporting revenue growth exceeding 70% YoY.

2. Technological Innovation Pervades the Development of the Motor Industry in 2025

Technological innovation served as the core engine for the motor industry's development in 2025.

In terms of material innovation, the large-scale application of new materials such as new-type rare earth permanent magnets and high magnetic induction, low loss silicon steel significantly enhanced motor power density and efficiency.

In the field of design innovation, the widespread adoption of digital design methods like multi-physics field coupling simulation and topological optimization enabled precise control of motor structure and performance. New structural designs such as flat wire motors and axial flux motors demonstrated outstanding performance in improving power density and torque, with 800V high-voltage platforms becoming the mainstream trend in electric drive systems.

Regarding intelligent upgrades, motor systems, by integrating sensors, edge computing modules, and communication interfaces, achieved real-time collection of key parameters like vibration, temperature, and current, along with abnormal early warnings. The integration of smart motors with digital twin technology allowed enterprises to simulate motor operating conditions in virtual space, predicting faults in advance and optimizing maintenance schedules.

Integration and Modularization Design Becomes the Mainstream Trend in the Industry. The penetration rate of motor products with integrated controllers is gradually increasing. This integrated design reduces the volume and weight of equipment, improving production efficiency and reliability.

3. Domestic Industry Differentiation and Global Competition Accelerate Changes in the Motor Market

In 2025, the motor industry ecosystem is characterized by intensified differentiation and cross-border integration coexisting.

Market competition presents a tiered pattern. Top-tier enterprises strengthen their market position through technological accumulation and scale advantages, utilizing methods such as IPO financing and capacity expansion investments. Small and medium-sized enterprises focus on niche markets, adopting differentiated competitive strategies.

Competitiveness of Chinese Domestic Enterprises continues to strengthen. In 2025, in China's overall motor market, domestic enterprises account for approximately 94% market share, while foreign enterprises account for approximately 6%. In the field of integrated controller motors, the market share of Chinese domestic brands exceeds 39%, an increase of 21 percentage points compared to 2020.

Industry chain collaboration further deepens. Upstream raw material enterprises and motor manufacturers engage in joint R&D to jointly break through material performance bottlenecks; on the downstream application side, motor enterprises are transitioning into comprehensive solution providers of "product + service," participating in the entire life cycle management of user equipment.

Global Layout becomes a key strategy for top-tier enterprises. Through overseas mergers and acquisitions, greenfield investments, and technical cooperation, Chinese motor enterprises are establishing global R&D and manufacturing networks.

4. Expansion in Emerging Fields Drives Continued Growth in the Motor Industry

In 2025, structural changes in downstream application markets inject new momentum into the motor industry.

New Energy Vehicle Drive Motors: With the continuous rise in NEV penetration rates, demand for drive motors is robust. Third-party drive motor enterprises achieve impressive performance, with products covering passenger and commercial vehicles, and overseas markets are also expanding rapidly.

Industrial Robots and Servo Motors: The acceleration of industrial automation promotes the development of servo motor technology towards higher precision and faster response speeds. The rise of the robotics industry opens up asecond growth curve for motor enterprises, with many companies actively deploying robotic joint modules and supporting motors.

Low-Altitude Economy and Specialized Fields: Emerging fields such as drones and electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft drive explosive demand for high power-to-weight ratio integrated motors, propelling this segment to expand at an annual growth rate of 62%.

5. Looking Ahead: Opportunities and Challenges Coexist

Looking ahead to 2026, the motor industry is expected to present the following development trends:

Technological Innovation will continue to achieve breakthroughs across multiple dimensions. Collaborative innovation in materials, design, and systems will further push motor performance toward its limits. The penetration rate of third-generation semiconductor silicon carbide controllers will further increase, driving continued cost reductions in 800V high-voltage platform motor systems.

Cross-boundary integration will accelerate. Motor enterprises will deepen cooperation with internet, software, and automation companies, promoting integrated innovations such as "motor + digitalization." The deep integration of AI and IoT technologies will propel motors toward "self-perception, self-diagnosis, and self-optimization."

Green and low-carbon initiatives will become the core development direction of the industry. As carbon footprint tracking becomes a key ESG metric, the market share of products meeting IE4 and higher efficiency grades will further increase.

The industry also faces numerous challenges. Technically, core materials for high-end motors still partially rely on imports, and key components such as precision bearings and high-end chips pose supply chain risks. Cost pressure persists, as fluctuations in raw material prices directly impact corporate profit margins.

In terms of international competition, Chinese motor enterprises face "two-way pressure" from high-end products in developed countries and low-cost products in developing countries. Trade barriers and differences in technical standards will also increase the difficulty of global expansion for enterprises.

Quality and management will surpass pure performance competition as the top priority. As technologies converge, excellent quality control and refined management capabilities will become key factors for enterprises to stand out.