IFA 2025: The Decline of Japan and South Korea, the Rise of China

A report by Kazashi Kazuichi was published on September 22 in Japan’s IT Business Media.

In September, the world’s largest consumer electronics trade show, IFA, opened in Berlin, Germany. Once, the banners of “Japan, the Kingdom of Home Appliances” fluttered prominently across exhibition halls. In recent years, Samsung Electronics from South Korea dominated vast sections of the venue—yet these are now gone.

Kazashi Kazuichi has covered IFA for two decades. He has witnessed how the void left by Japan and South Korea’s once-dominant appliance giants has been filled by a growing force of Chinese companies. Xiaomi, Haier, and China’s manned drones capable of speeds up to 150 km/h have become central figures at this year’s event.

The era of precision manufacturing is over. A powerful industrial coalition in China—leading in generative AI, humanoid robotics, and smart glasses—now shapes market dynamics.

In 2007, IFA symbolized Japan’s dominance in home appliances, gathering major manufacturers such as Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Sharp, and Pioneer. This year, the shift is even more striking. Even Samsung Electronics from South Korea has vanished from the scene.

At IFA, company press conferences traditionally take place two days before the opening. The expansive “City Cube” building once exclusively occupied by Samsung is no longer there. It has been replaced by exhibitions focused on next-generation mobility, including electric motorcycles and drones.

This year, Samsung’s exhibition space occupies only about 20% of its former footprint, with no groundbreaking products or technologies unveiled. The press conference lasted approximately 15 minutes—far shorter than past events, lacking the elaborate performances previously seen. In 2024, Samsung rented the entire building, featuring a massive outdoor advertisement spanning 44 meters. By 2025, that banner was replaced by Midea, a Chinese company.

At CES, the world’s largest technology trade show, Samsung relocated its display area from the main exhibition hall to a hotel in January 2026. For large brands with strong market presence, it is no longer necessary to showcase their products in crowded public exhibition spaces; instead, targeted negotiations through invitation-only booths offer greater efficiency.

This strategy has also been adopted by Sony and other Japanese firms. However, as Japanese manufacturers withdrew from IFA and CES, Samsung gradually receded from the spotlight.

Previously, companies like Hisense, Haier, China Electronics Technology Group, and Midea maintained prominent booths at IFA. In 2026, Xiaomi established a major exhibit showcasing electric sports cars and smart home appliances.

Dreamy, a startup specializing in robotic vacuum cleaners, doubled its exhibition space. Anker Innovations, known for portable power banks and other consumer electronics, significantly expanded its booth—further amplifying the visibility of Chinese manufacturers.

Xpeng made its debut at IFA, presenting a large manned drone (eVTOL) and a prototype van-style electric vehicle designed specifically for transporting such drones. The eVTOL is a two-seater model capable of reaching speeds up to 150 km/h with a flight duration of 30 minutes. The “Kufei,” developed by Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, is a single-seat manned drone. Chinese companies also lead globally in electric motorcycles and scooters, including manufacturers such as Ninebot, Yadea, NIU, and Aotos, which acquired Segway.

IFA 2026 will host over 2,000 participating companies—about 100 more than last year—with Chinese firms accounting for more than half. Nearly 40% of exhibition space is occupied by Chinese enterprises.

Taiwanese PC giant Acer and display specialist BenQ also set up large booths. At the press conference, Acer’s CEO unveiled a ultralight laptop weighing just 799 grams and measuring 13 millimeters in thickness—highlighting the competitive pressure faced by established Taiwanese manufacturers from emerging mainland Chinese counterparts.

While history may repeat itself, the case of European home appliance brands reveals a different story. German companies such as AEG, TELEFUNKEN, GRUNDIG, and LOEWE were once dominant. Their decline was driven largely by Japanese and South Korean manufacturers.

Grundig maintained a large booth at this year’s IFA—but the actual products on display were produced by Arcelik, a Turkish OEM manufacturer holding the Grundig brand. Another Turkish OEM, VESTEL, which focuses on Japanese appliance brands, also had a substantial presence. However, it has been forced to withdraw due to increasing competition from Chinese manufacturers.

What about Japanese appliance makers? Sony, once a flagship company, suspended participation during the pandemic and now only maintains a non-public booth within a dedicated “Creator Hub” area for business partners.

Panasonic is the only Japanese firm still retaining a booth. Unfortunately, it is enclosed by white fencing and accessible solely for designated business purposes, with only the “Panasonic” logo clearly visible. Sharp, a subsidiary of Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry, holds a booth—but all household appliances under the “SHARP” brand, except LCD TVs, have been replaced by other consumer electronics bearing the same name.

The pace of change among exhibitors over the past two decades has been unprecedented.

Notably, the emergence of new digital technologies—such as internet services, cloud computing, and smartphones—has fundamentally reshaped the structure of the home appliance market. The technical strengths once held by Japanese manufacturers are no longer essential.

Chinese companies emphasize artificial intelligence and user convenience, enabling seamless connectivity between household devices. At IFA, Chinese firms overwhelmingly dominate displays of wireless-connected devices, surveillance cameras, and voice-activated smart home systems.

In fact, even during the period when Japanese manufacturers were perceived to dominate global appliance markets, they did not hold a leading position across all categories. Japan excelled in so-called “black appliances” like televisions and camcorders, but lagged behind in “white appliances”—which require quiet operation, compact design, and energy efficiency—where performance was not at the forefront.

Japanese firms must adopt new strategies and mindsets to meet the challenges posed by Europe’s evolving appliance and digital markets. The only viable path toward global recovery lies in abandoning past achievements and directly engaging in the development of new digital technologies.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1877007831545867/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.