Doosan Bobcat

Doosan Bobcat Holds 'Virtual Dealer Conference 2021' in China

On January 29, Doosan Bobcat announced that Doosan Bobcat China Co., Ltd., based in Suzhou, China, had held a virtual conference on January 28 attended by more than 400 dealers of its compact construction equipment from all over China. The company held the conference to share its business results in 2020, its mid- to long-term business strategies, and major issues with dealers operating across the country, in a drive to maximize its sales potential in the market.
Doosan Bobcat proposed a series of strategies tailored for the Chinese market, such as securing competitiveness by expanding its product line-up, reinforcing its R&D capabilities and sharing specific action plans with the dealers.
China's compact construction equipment market is the second largest market in the world after that of the United States, with compact excavators accounting for an overwhelming proportion of sales. Doosan Bobcat has been concentrating on China’s 3-ton-and-smaller mini excavator market, with sales rising to 8,778 units in 2020. The market has seen an average annual growth rate of 64% since 2016, amid rapid urbanization and rising labor costs.
In 2020, Doosan Bobcat started producing two types of mini excavators, the E17Z and the E20Z, at its Suzhou plant in China, in a bid to step up its marketing efforts for the 3-ton-and-smaller mini excavator market in particular. Doosan Bobcat plans to seize a double-digit share of China’s market within two years on the back of its unmatched product competitiveness and differentiated customer service.
Last year, Doosan Bobcat launched the S70, an ultra-compact loader, in China following its launch of Earthforce, a compact loader customized for China, in 2017, as part of its efforts to expand its sales of compact loaders in the market.
An executive from Doosan Bobcat declared, “This event enabled us to share with our major dealers in China our strategies for expanding our market presence in the country from the mid- to long-term perspective. We will further increase our market share in China by making concerted efforts to strengthen our dealers’ capabilities while continually introducing new products tailored for the market.”

2021-01-29

Doosan Bobcat Invests in a US Company with Core “Unmanned Solutions”

On January 8, Doosan Bobcat announced that it had signed an equity investment agreement with Ainstein, a venture business based in Kansas, USA, to develop 'radar sensors', the key component of unmanned solutions.
Ainstein develops and manufactures radar sensors required for air mobility such as drones, and autonomous, self-driving of automobiles. The company has established a competitive edge over its main rivals as it possesses both the hardware and software development capabilities needed to continue improving the performance of its sensors.
Having already maintained a strategic cooperative relationship since 2018, Doosan Bobcat and Ainstein executed a contract to promote the joint development of radar sensor technologies required for the automation of construction equipment in April 2020. Doosan Bobcat decided to make an equity investment in Ainstein in a bid to accelerate the development of unmanned vehicle technologies based on a more stable long-term partnership between the two companies.
Unmanned technology is growing rapidly not only for automobiles but also for construction/compact equipment, whose commercialization looks imminent. Doosan Bobcat's strategy is to occupy the unmanned solution market early on with preemptive investments.
“With this equity investment, we are looking not only to accelerate the development of unmanned technologies, but also to increase sales by securing radar sensor royalties,” said an executive from Doosan Bobcat. "We will continue to play a leading role in the automation of compact construction equipment by incorporating key radar sensor technologies into our product lines as early as possible."
Doosan Bobcat has established its position as the leader of the global compact construction equipment market by aiming itself with innovative technologies such as the commercialized version of Max Control, Apple’s remote control technology based on its mobile operating system (iOS) – a notable achievement that Doosan Bobcat accomplished in 2019 for the first time in the global construction industry.

2021-01-08

Doosan Bobcat Introduces 12 New Products - at a European Virtual Product Launch

Doosan Bobcat announced on 22 October 2020 that it had held a virtual new product launching event on October 21 (local time) at its EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) subsidiary based in the Czech Republic, where it introduced a total of twelve new products, the most it has ever introduced at any event.
The new products included a compact wheel loader and a light compaction* customized for the European market, in addition to an R-series small loader and an R2-series mini excavator, both significant upgrades of existing products.
*Compaction: Used to compact soils most efficiently.
The compact wheel loader, which was unveiled for the first time at the event, is a piece of European-specific equipment that can maximize work efficiency even in narrow places with its excellent loading capacity and horizontal articulation feature. Doosan Bobcat plans to boost its market presence in the European compact wheel loader market, estimated at around 20,000 units a year, by achieving an annual sales goal of more than 1,000 units within the next five years. At the product launch, the Company also unveiled its light compaction equipment crucial for asphalt road construction for the first time.
In addition, Doosan Bobcat took the opportunity to announce the European launch of its R Series compact loader, which was introduced in North America last year, attracting a great response, and the R2-Series mini excavator, an upgraded version of its R Series excavators. The European mini excavator market stood at around 90,000 units a year in 2019, accounting for more than 80% of the continent’s total compact construction equipment market. Doosan Bobcat has continuously expanded its market share in the market by strengthening its local dealer network and enhancing its marketing capabilities. It now plans to achieve a 10% market share in Europe in a year or two - largely through the launch of new products.
At the event, the Company also showcased its latest technologies - the results of its intensive innovation efforts - including 'Max Control,' a smartphone-based remote control technology, and 'Features on Demand', which is designed to enable the user to place an order for optional features in the most convenient way, for the first time in the European market.
A representative of Doosan Bobcat said, “The event was significant in the sense that it shared with visitors the strategic direction the Company intends to take to increase its market presence in the continent,” adding, “We will further strengthen our position as a global leader by concentrating our core competencies under the company's iconic slogan “Next Is Now!”, which refers to the its commitment to redefining the compact equipment market by continuously expanding its product lineup and pursuing technological innovation.”

2020-10-22

Doosan Bobcat Launches Its Own Brand ‘ZTR Mower’ to Expand Its Share of the Turf & Landscape Market

Doosan Bobcat announced on September 9 that it was due to launch the ZTR Mower,* which has been upgraded with the company’s unique design characteristics, for the North American market as part of its efforts to make inroads into the global Turf & Landscape market. It plans to introduce the new product through its strong dealer network, and also expects significant synergistic effects on the sales of its flagship compact construction equipment.
*Zero-turn Mower (ZTR Mower): Equipped with zero-turn (zero turning radius) technology, zero-turn riding lawn mowers boast unrivalled performance efficiency compared to existing lawn mowers.
Doosan Bobcat entered the GME market last year by acquiring the zero-turn mower business unit of Schiller Ground Care, a renowned American lawn and landscape equipment manufacturer. North America’s zero-turn mower market records sales of at about 810,000 units per year, worth some US$4.8 billion (about 5.7 trillion won), showing a steady average annual growth rate of 7.8% over the past five years. Doosan Bobcat originally planned to launch its zero-turn mowers, equipped with the company’s unique design characteristics, towards the end of the year, but it has succeeded in advancing the schedule by as much as three months thanks to its faster-than-expected success with the PMI (post-merger integration) process and other efforts to enhance the product.
On the back of its high brand awareness and strong dealer network in the North American market, Doosan Bobcat aims to stabilize its market position as early as possible in order to achieve 100 billion won in sales in 2020 and more than double the figure by 2024.
An executive of Doosan Bobcat said, “The North American landscape market has shown a relatively stable growth trend as demand among farmers who grow plants or crops as a hobby has steadily grown despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” adding, “We will also seek to maximize our synergistic effects on the sales of our existing construction equipment by continuing to expand our GME (compact farming and landscaping equipment) lineup.**
**GME (ground maintenance equipment) refers to compact farming and landscaping equipment.
Doosan Bobcat has been accelerating its GME business since 2019, selling more than 1,700 compact tractors in the first half of 2020 in the North American market after launching the models there in September 2019. The company’s other GME products - including mini track loaders (MTLs) and utility vehicles (UVs) - have also shown steady growth in the market. Overall, Doosan Bobcat recorded GME sales of about US$140 million, an increase of more than 200% over the preceding year, in the North American market during the first half of 2020.

2020-09-09

Doosan Bobcat Set to Expand Presence in China’s Compact Excavator Market

Doosan Bobcat announced on Aug 5 that it had kicked off the production of compact excavators (1-2 ton) in China, thereby positioning itself as a leading player in the Chinese market for compact construction equipment. The company aims to continue increasing its market share in the huge construction market on the back of the superior cost competitiveness and faster customer response enabled by the local production of its compact excavators.
Doosan Bobcat’s Suzhou Plant in China has now started producing two compact excavator models, the E17Z and the E20Z, in China, whereas it previously had to import them from its plant in the Czech Republic. With the localization of production, the company can boost price competitiveness while shortening the lead time, creating the flexibility necessary to respond quickly to changes in demand. The most notable feature of the 1-2 ton excavators is their zero tail-swing (ZTS) design, which requires a minimal swing radius while guaranteeing the highest level of operational efficiency in even the tightest spaces.
The Chinese market for compact excavators (3 tons or less) on which Doosan Bobcat is focusing its resources is estimated to have exceeded 7,000 units per year after growing at an impressive annual rate of 80% between 2016 and 2019. Doosan Bobcat now plans to achieve a double-digit market share in China within three years based on its high product competitiveness and differentiated financing programs.
“The Chinese compact excavator market is expected to continue growing due to the increasing number of indoor jobsites and rising labor costs in line with the country’s rapid urbanization,” said an executive from Doosan Bobcat. “With China as its production base, Doosan Bobcat plans to continue expanding its sales in other emerging markets not only in Asia but also in Oceania and Latin America.”
Meanwhile, Doosan Bobcat has expanded its compact construction equipment business in China in recent years. In 2017, it kicked off the local production of its compact loader, Earthforce, targeting the Chinese market in particular, while in 2019 it began producing its smallest loader, the S70, in China to meet the particular demands of the market.

2020-08-05