From 2024 to 2025: Industrial Transformation, Giant Dilemmas, and the Path to “Essential” Breakthrough in the Robot Vacuum Industry

From 2024 to 2025: Industrial Transformation, Giant Dilemmas, and the Path to “Essential” Breakthrough in the Robot Vacuum Industry

I. Reconstructing the Industry Landscape: From “Duopoly” to “Multi-Power Coexistence”

2024 marked a historic turning point for the robot vacuum industry. The long-standing “duopoly” dominated by Ecovacs and Roborock was shattered, with market share gaps narrowing rapidly. According to GfK data, Ecovacs’ share dropped to 30.5% in the first half of 2024 (a year-on-year decrease of 10.3%), while emerging brands like Dreame and Narwal surged with growth rates of 20.4% and 14.4%, respectively. This shift reflects the collective entry of traditional home appliance giants and cross-industry players: Midea leveraged its 下沉市场 (low-tier market) channel advantages for explosive growth, while DJI quietly entered the high-end market with its drone technology reserves.

Intense competition directly impacted leading companies’ financials: Ecovacs’ net profit plummeted 69% year-on-year in Q3 2024, while Roborock’s single-quarter net profit growth plummeted from 95% to 43%. Despite an overall 19.7% sales increase, profit margins shrank drastically, pushing the industry into a painful phase of “high growth, low profitability.”

II. Giants in Crisis: The Double Shackles of Technological 内卷 and Ecological Deficiency

1. Trapped in “Incremental Innovation”
   Leading firms increased R&D spending significantly—Ecovacs and Roborock invested 657 million and 640 million RMB in the first three quarters of 2024—but product iterations remained confined to marginal improvements like edge cleaning and anti-tangle brushes. For example, Ecovacs’ “constant-pressure 活水 circulation system” solved mop contamination but was quickly replicated, failing to establish long-term barriers.
   Worse, core technologies like LDS laser navigation and all-in-one bases became industry standards, eliminating first-mover advantages. As Ecovacs CEO Qian Cheng admitted: “When product practicality reaches a technological plateau, incremental innovation alone can’t engage consumers.”
2. The Paradox of Price Wars and Premiumization
   To maintain gross margins, leading companies priced new models at 3,500–5,000 RMB, conflicting with market penetration needs. AVC data showed sub-3,000 RMB 新品 (new products) accounted for <10% in H1 2024, while industry penetration stagnated at 5–6%. This mismatch between “premiumization” and “low penetration” created a “high acclaim, low adoption” dilemma.
3. Weak Ecological Synergy
   Compared to iRobot’s integrated ecosystem (Roomba + Braava), Chinese giants lagged in cross-category integration. Ecovacs and Roborock remained focused on standalone vacuums, while Narwal’s “sweeping + mopping” dual-product line drove 1.7 billion RMB sales during 2024 Singles’ Day, proving the value of ecological layouts.

III. Path to Breakthrough: Deep Resonance Between Technological Revolution and User Needs

1. Embodied Intelligence: From Cleaning Tool to Home Service Terminal
   At CES 2025, Dreame and Roborock unveiled models with bionic manipulators, shifting from “passive obstacle avoidance” to “active object handling.” Dreame’s multi-joint arm, for example, can grasp 400g objects and organize toys/slippers using AI vision, marking the first step toward home service robots capable of environmental management.
2. Scenario-Based Innovation: Solving User Pain Points

• Hair Tangling: Narwal J4’s cyclonic 导流 (flow guiding) design and Ecovacs T30 PRO’s V-shaped brush achieved “zero tangling” through mechanical innovation.
• Complex Operation: Singaporean brand Redkey R20 integrated a 10.1-inch touchscreen on its base, allowing APP-free map editing and suction adjustment, tailored for elderly users.
• Battery Anxiety: Roborock G30 Space’s modular battery enabled 4-hour 续航 (battery life), catering to 200㎡+ large homes.

3. Dual Drive of Policy and Market
   China’s “trade-in” subsidy policy, extended to 2025, boosted online sales by 30%. Leading firms accelerated low-tier market expansion: Roborock doubled GMV via Douyin (TikTok China) and broke through iRobot’s patent blockade in North America.

IV. The Next Decade: Transition from “Cleaning King” to “Service Ecosystem”

1. Technological Trends

• AI Large Models Integration: Narwal Flow’s binocular vision system recognizes 200+ household items and adjusts cleaning strategies dynamically.
• 3D Vision Breakthrough: Dreame X50 Ultra’s RGBD camera and point cloud reconstruction achieved millimeter-level obstacle recognition.
• Energy Innovation: Ecovacs DEEBOT X9 PRO adopted hydrogen fuel cells, halving charging time and extending battery life to 6 hours.

2. Market Structure
   The industry will form a “pyramid” hierarchy: at the top, autonomous decision-making home service robots (e.g., Roborock G30 Space); in the middle, scenario-specific products (e.g., Narwal J5 Pet Edition); at the base, cost-effective models by Xiaomi and Midea.
3. Ecological Reconstruction
   Giants must build “hardware + service” ecosystems. Ecovacs could integrate “Deebot + Winbot + Airbot” for 全屋清洁 (whole-home cleaning), while Roborock could expand to home security and health monitoring via its manipulator technology.

Conclusion: Survival Rules for Game Changers

The robot vacuum industry in 2025 is transitioning from “technology-driven” to “need-driven.” To survive the shakeout, companies must focus on three core strategies:

• Technological Depth: Establish generational gaps in AI, robotics, and energy to avoid homogenization.
• User Insight: Shift from “feature stacking” to “precision pain-solving,” such as developing pet-hair-specific models.
• Ecological Synergy: Build smart home moats through cross-category integration and third-party collaborations.

Only by doing so can robot vacuums break through the penetration ceiling of traditional home appliances and evolve into the core gateway for home service robotics.