South Korean media: Chinese floor-mopping robot sweeps the globe, defeating US's iRobot! On April 11, South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo published an article stating that China's Roborock has surpassed the US's iRobot to become the world's largest floor-mopping robot company. Among the top five floor-mopping robot companies, four are located in China. According to market research firm IDC, Roborock ranked first globally last year in both sales volume (16% share) and sales revenue (22.3%). Until the first quarter of last year, "the world's largest floor-mopping robot company" was the US's iRobot, followed by China's Roborock, Ecovacs, and Xiaomi. However, last year, Roborock's floor-mopping robot shipments increased by 20.7%, while iRobot's share dropped to 13.7%, falling to second place. The third to fifth global floor-mopping robot companies are China's Ecovacs, Xiaomi, and Dreame. According to IDC data, Roborock remains number one in North Europe, Turkey, Germany, France, and South Korea. iRobot maintains its position as the leader in the US, Canada, and Japan markets, but its shares in Western Europe and Asia are being taken over by Roborock. IDC analysis states that "iRobot's weak localization capabilities in emerging markets and relatively undiversified product types may limit its long-term growth." In 2022, Amazon attempted to expand its smart home business through acquiring iRobot, but this plan was blocked by EU regulators. Since then, due to weak demand in the US market and competition from Chinese enterprises, iRobot has faced operational difficulties and began restructuring, including large-scale layoffs, starting last year. The global floor-mopping robot market is growing rapidly, with shipments increasing by 11.2% year-on-year last year and sales revenue growing by 19.7%. The average product price increased by 7.6% to $452, and IDC predicts that floor-mopping robots will continue to develop rapidly this year with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1829073147165898/ Disclaimer: This article solely represents the author's personal views.