After the air conditioning is out of stock, this chip race is quietly erupting

In June 2026, Europe experienced a historic extreme heat wave, with temperatures soaring to 41.7 ° C in eastern Germany and as high as 43 ° C in western France. The prolonged heatwave transformed air conditioning from an optional household appliance to a necessity for people's livelihoods, directly igniting China's air conditioning export market to Europe. According to relevant data, China's exports of air conditioners to the European Union surged by 43.2% year-on-year in the first half of this year. Among them, the growth rate of mobile air conditioners suitable for European apartments and without external unit installation scenarios exceeded 70%. Overseas orders are scarce and delivery cycles continue to lengthen. The explosive growth of the terminal market has driven the expansion of demand for a full range of electronic components such as air conditioning control chips, power devices, passive components, sensors, and protection devices. The terminal dividend driven by climate in this round not only reshapes the short-term supply and demand pattern of the electronic components industry, but also fully highlights the core value of the mature process track, bringing important industry impact and long-term development inspiration to the development of the domestic electronic components industry.

Unlike smartphones and AI chips that pursue advanced processes, white goods devices such as air conditioners require mild computing power. Mature process chips such as 28nm and 40nm have become the mainstream choice in the industry due to their high stability, high temperature resistance, and controllable cost, and have long supported the basic market of billions of white goods terminals. In the entire electronic control system of the air conditioner, the home appliance MCU and power management IC are responsible for intelligent regulation and voltage stabilization protection of the whole machine. MOS tubes and IPM power modules support variable frequency energy-saving operation. Micro capacitors, relays, and connectors are adapted to the miniaturized body design of mobile air conditioners. Various temperature, humidity, and pressure sensors ensure stable operation of the equipment under high temperature and harsh working conditions in Europe. At the same time, all components must meet EU ErP energy efficiency, RoHS environmental protection, safety certification and other admission standards. Compliance, high reliability, and miniaturization have become standard equipment for overseas use.

The current wave of air conditioning exports has completely rewritten the industry's inherent understanding of mature processes and broken the one-sided thinking that "advanced processes have room for growth". With the concentrated release of overseas orders, the supply and demand gap for household appliance specific chips, power devices, and passive components continues to widen. Original factory delivery times are extended, and prices are steadily increasing. The industry is showing obvious track differentiation: weak demand for consumer electronic components and inventory pressure, while the quantity and price of refrigeration specific components are rising, and supply is in short supply. At the same time, the compact body design of mobile air conditioners has forced all types of components to accelerate iteration. Traditional large volume universal components are gradually being phased out by the market, while highly integrated, miniaturized, and high-temperature resistant customized components have gained significant market premiums, and product technology barriers continue to rise.

The supply and demand boom has also reshaped the development pattern of the component distribution track. In the past, many channel merchants focused on stocking up on consumer electronic components. With the changing trend of the market, the industry has adjusted its inventory structure and focused on developing specialized components for white electric refrigeration. At the same time, in order to ensure stable delivery and reduce supply chain costs, leading air conditioning manufacturers are gradually bypassing multiple intermediaries and directly connecting to domestic original factories to lock in production capacity. The traditional distribution model is accelerating iteration, and the competitiveness of supply chain service providers with one-stop selection, compliance matching, and stable supply capabilities continues to be highlighted. Relying on the advantages of a complete domestic air conditioning industry chain, the process of replacing complete sets of domestic components continues to accelerate. Compared with imported components from Japan and South Korea, local product delivery is more flexible and the cost is more controllable. Following the successful entry of domestic home appliance brands into the European market, the upgrade from single product replacement to complete system matching has been completed.

From the perspective of long-term industrial development, this market trend has brought many core inspirations to the electronic components industry. The industry needs to abandon the mindset of process internalization and deeply cultivate physical tracks such as home appliances and industrial control, relying on mature processes to create highly reliable specialized products, avoiding low-priced internalization in consumer electronics, and building a stable business foundation. At the same time, enterprises need to keep up with the trend of domestic products going global, adapt to overseas high-temperature conditions, special power grid standards, and EU compliance requirements, and create complete component solutions that are suitable for the global market, opening up incremental space. The current industry competition has shifted from a single price competition to a comprehensive strength competition of complete solutions, technical services, and compliance guarantees. Balancing the layout of multiple downstream tracks, flexibly responding to short-term pulse like demands, and deeply cultivating scenario based customization are key factors for enterprises to smooth cycle risks and achieve differentiated challenges.