Hitachi lifts its elevator renovation business to over 300 cities across China

Hitachi Elevator (China) Co, an arm of Japanese electronics giant Hitachi Ltd, has expanded its elevator renovation business to more than 300 cities across the country, with over 18,000 renovation projects completed, according to the company.

China has introduced urban renewal and equipment update action plans since 2024, with replacing old elevators with new ones becoming a key initiative.

Over 30.9 billion yuan ($4.6 billion) in super-long-term special government bonds have been allocated nationwide this year, supporting the renovation of 197,000 old residential elevators, according to statistics from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

With the impetus from long-term special government bonds driving the large-scale renovation of old residential elevators and the real estate industry entering a phase of "better housing" construction, the demand for high-quality elevators in urban buildings is expected to increase significantly, according to Tan Xianguang, general manager of the quality assurance department at Hitachi Elevator (China) Co.

"Elevator renovation is not merely about replacing the old with the new - it is an opportunity to recreate a better living environment by introducing more high-quality products," Tan said.

Inside the company's Dashi factory in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, the integration of artificial intelligence and manufacturing has been successfully implemented, providing strong momentum for the quality enhancement of elevators.

Within the factory, the industry's first introduction of 5G and Level 4 autonomous driving unmanned towing vehicles is efficiently transporting materials. The Walker S2 humanoid robot is conducting collaborative process testing, reshaping the smart logistics model of the factory as a physical AI mobile intelligent entity.

"Digital control spans the entire production process, proactively addressing potential quality issues and ensuring consistent product quality in large-scale production," Tan said, during a recent production quality open day at the factory.

Guangzhou has become a significant hub for elevator manufacturing in China. In 2025, the city produced 145,000 elevators, escalators and lifts, marking a 13.8 percent year-on-year increase, accounting for 10.4 percent of the national elevator production.