This report analyses the Chinese market for crawler dozers over the last five years and is an update of the subject last covered in Off-Highway Research’s Chinese Service in May 2021. The findings presented in this report are based on Off-Highway Research’s Chinese Database Service and on interviews undertaken in China with the industry’s leading manufacturers and their distributors during the first quarter of 2023.

Crawler dozers operating in China range from the smallest 80 horsepower models to machines up to 960 horsepower and are classified into three types of drive: mechanical drive, hydrodynamic (or hydraulic torque converter) drive and hydrostatic drive. The mechanical drive machines are still preferred by some traditional customers although demand is now relatively small. The hydrodynamic models are currently the most popular among manufacturers and customers, and these dominate demand. Hydrostatic crawler dozers have been gradually accepted by the market.

In 2023, all crawler dozers powered by diesel engines have been transformed from China Stage III to China Stage IV on the domestic market according to the regulations on emissions. Meanwhile, the market leader Shantui has also developed electric crawler dozers powered by lithium-ion batteries, although the products have yet to be approved and accepted by customers. It should be noted that crawler dozers for export are primarily powered by diesel engines that are compliant to China Stage II emissions standards, because these machines are destined to those regions outside of the North American and European markets.