In the first half of 2025, the La Niña phenomenon brought persistent rainfall to tropical and subtropical regions, including Southeast Asia, India, and Central America, delaying the onset of summer.
As a result, sales of residential air conditioners (RACs) were sluggish during the peak sales season, with global demand growing by only 2.6% year-on-year. Despite this overall slowdown, emerging markets in Africa and the Middle East showed significant growth in demand for RACs. China also showed healthy growth.
Even in the mature Japanese market, extremely hot weather and government subsidies for high-performance RACs have contributed to strong growth. In addition, a heat wave in parts of Europe and Southeast Asia since late June has increased expectations for a modest market recovery in the second half of the year.