A powerful surge in orders from a heat-battered Europe has pushed Chinese manufacturer Midea into overdrive. One of the company’s production lines churned out 20,000 portable air conditioners in a lightning-fast 84-hour stretch to keep pace.
The scramble for cooling solutions stems from relentless heatwaves that have blanketed the continent since late spring. As temperatures shattered records and lingered for weeks, millions of Europeans hunted for relief, and a particular appliance from Midea exploded in popularity.
During a single month, two factories buzzed with activity after receiving orders for 200,000 units from European buyers. The Guangzhou-based home appliance giant disclosed the figures through a statement on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s investor platform Wednesday, describing the market response as explosive.
The star performer driving this frenzy is the company’s U-shaped PortaSplit model. Unlike traditional split systems that require permanent wall alterations, this portable unit hangs its outdoor component from a window bracket. For countless residents across Europe, that design sidesteps a major headache. Strict preservation laws in historic urban centers often ban drilling into exterior walls, making standard AC installation impossible.
Midea revealed that since June, European customers placed 160,000 orders for this particular window-hugging device. With the order book swelling, leadership in Wuhu scrambled to add new capacity. A fresh production line went live on July 7. Within three and a half days, workers had assembled 20,000 machines. A week later, the first batch began its journey toward France.
The blistering conditions that started in late May have reshaped Europe’s appliance market. Consumers who once viewed air conditioning as unnecessary luxury now compete for every available unit. As climate projections suggest these extreme weather events will arrive more frequently, manufacturers supplying nimble, regulation-friendly technology stand to capture an expanding and increasingly desperate customer base.
