Interview: LGMG’s Ares Song on new products and diversification

Chinese manufacturers are having to steer an increasingly complicated path in their efforts to increase exports, in particular to Europe and North America

That is doubly the case for aerial platform suppliers, where there are existing tariffs for imports to the USA and recent anti-dumping tariffs from the European Union. Additional anti-subsidy ‘countervailing’ tariffs are also now being considered by the EU, and the incoming Trump administration has, of course, been loudly beating the tariff drum.

Ares Song, head of the export department at LGMG’s aerial platform international marketing division, pictured at Bauma China. (Photo: Access International)

The challenges facing Chinese OEMs – although unlikely to be viewed with much sympathy by European and North American manufacturers - could have a significant impact for buyers of aerial platforms, with higher prices being one possible consequence.

Ares Song, the head of the export department at LGMG’s aerial platform international marketing division, acknowledges the realities; “It’s a challenge for all manufacturers in China – even the North American OEMs producing in China.”

The possibility of US tariffs on Chinese products, even those produced in Mexico, is of direct relevance to LGMG. It opened a factory in Monterrey in late 2023 to serve the North American market, and has been ramping up production there ever since.

It already employs 500 people and is producing rough terrain and electric scissors, boomlifts up to 80 ft, and – most recently – a 10,000lb (4.5t) capacity telehandler for North America.

Song says the tariff issue will prompt a review of how it uses its Mexican and Chinese production plants; “The cost of manufacturing in Monterrey is higher than China. We are looking at which products are most competitive from China or Monterrey…We can use both factories to supply to Europe.

“We are still waiting for the countervailing [decision from the EU] and then we will do further cost calculations. But we will be ready to use two factories to supply Europe.”

Exports growing

This is a high stakes discussion for the company, because exports of its aerial platforms and telehandlers already represent 55% to 60% of its total MEWP sales, and exports grew by 30% in 2024.

Of course, tariffs are part of a market dynamic and can drive or accelerate change. In the case of LGMG, it is stirring them to compete not just on price but on products and technology.

In that context, Song says the company is working to revamp and expand its product range, add new technology options, and be a pioneer in the development of electric powered lifts.

At Bauma China it was showing its ‘Generation 2’ scissors and booms. In the case of its booms, that means a typical 2t weight reduction resulting from a redesign of both the boom structure and the turret.

The company’s new T28 machine, for example, now weighs 16.5t compared to the 18.7t of the earlier model, while the weight of the T20JE falls from 12.0t to 9.5t. The scissors are a little bit lighter than their predecessors, using less heavy electric motors.

The booms also now come with control software that can be updated remotely (‘over the air’), and incorporate a pre-delivery auto-testing system for rental companies to use before sending machines out to customers.

It also showed in Shanghai its first 42m telescopic boom, the electric T42JE-2 machine, with X-configuration outriggers. The machine, which has a 600Ahr, 48kW Lithium-Ion battery pack, will be launched in China in the second quarter of this year. A diesel version for export markets will also be available in 2025.

LGMG’s new H625E electric telehandler, pictured at Bauma China 2024. (Photo: Access International)

Diversification of products

Part of the strategy is also to expand its product range. The company launched its first telehandler in 2023 and at Bauma China showed its first electric unit, the H625E, a 6m, 2.5t capacity machine.

It uses a Chinese-made CATL Lithium-Ion battery pack offering an 80V, 24kW output, and will operate for four hours on a single charge. Full recharge takes between 4 and 7 hours, depending on the rating of the charger.

The H625E will get a global launch in the second quarter of this year, with Europe and Australia being two key target markets, says Song. It will be 35-40% more expensive than the equivalent diesel model.

It is also now producing in Mexico the H1056 telehandler, a 10,000lb (4.5t), 56ft (17m) capacity, diesel powered model developed specifically for North America.

The battery powered 625 is part of LGMG’s goal to be a leader in electric machines; “We believe it will be the future, and we want to be one of the pioneers”, says song, “Chinese OEMs can use that as a competitive advantage.”

He says LGMG will use China’s well-developed supply chain for batteries and motors, but adds; “We are market oriented. The move into electric machines is not just because of the supply chain advantage, but because we believe in an electric future. There will be demand.”

Alongside the new power investment, LGMG is also planning to further expand its product range, with forklift trucks soon to join the aerial platforms and telehandlers. The company also makes large rigid dump trucks for the mining sector.

Ares Song says the introduction of telehandlers and forklifts, in addition to the mining equipment, brings diversity; “The more products we have the more opportunities we have to overcome the challenges”, he says.

The mining machines are currently made for China, Asia Pacific, Africa and Latin America. Song says there are no plans yet to target Europe or North America with that product line.

In terms of its efforts in Europe, he tells AI that Bauma will be “very important”. It will have a wide range of products on show, including the H625E telehandler and, possibly, the new 42m electric boom.

Domestic MEWP downturn

Of course, LGMG’s export focus has sharpened in recent years because of the downturn in the Chinese access sector and the wider construction equipment market. Sales of construction equipment are at half the level they were during the peaks of 2020 and 2021 when the Chinese government stepped in with major stimulus actions.

The electric T42JE-2 has a 600Ahr, 48kW Lithium-Ion battery pack. (Photo: Access international)

The aerial platform market has been further impacted by the extraordinary rise in the size of China’s MEWP rental fleet, which now exceeds 750,000 units. The rapid growth of the domestic fleet led to over-capacity in production as well as severe downward pressures on rental rates.

It is that dynamic which has led some of China’s rental players, such as Horizon Construction Development (CDHorizon), to expand into South East Assia and the Middle East, sending thousands of machines outside China.

Song, although emphasising that the domestic market is not his area of responsibility, says the company is looking at opportunities to supply niche access products to the market in China, looking at niche applications.

He adds that the Chinese government has also recently announced some measures to strengthen growth in the economy; “This [the end of 2024] is the low point. Hopefully the second half of 2025 will see an improvement.”

So, while Song doesn’t use these words, the overall message is clear: focus less on the tariffs and more on the positives. It has new products, is being proactive on electrification, and is looking forward to Bauma. It’s a good attitude to have during a complicated time.