2024

2024: Another Exceptional Year

At face value, 2024 was another exceptional year for the diesel generator sets industry, growing 18%, or around 15% if price inflation is excluded.  

In growth terms, that means a 10% CAGR in the 5 years from 2019, compared with 0% CAGR in the previous 5 year period from 2014 - 2019.  

The numbers reflect a multitude of factors in play across the world:  some driving growth, others slowing it down.  

And we'll take a brief look at some of these below.

2024 Growth

The year that producers of diesel generator sets experienced in 2024 depends to a great extent on what they produced and in which region it was sold. 

• Around 80% of industry growth was at ratings above 1500 kVA.

• Almost 40% of growth was at ratings from 3001 - 4000 kVA and more than 30% of growth at ratings from 2001 - 3000 kVA.

Globally, around 30% of growth came from North America with around 20% from SE Asia.  Much of this was from a strong data center sector.

2024 Global Market 7.5 - 1500 kVA

Below 1,500 kVA, there's evidence of a slight slowdown globally, but with no single reason.  Just a confluence of multiple factors, some short term, others more permanent.  

For most of 2024 at ratings below 750 kVA, North America was in a slight decline.  The region declined around -7% in value terms, -8 to -14% in unit terms.  It's worth noting that the region has seen substantial growth over the last 5 years, partly due to relatively strong economic performance and growing intolerance of power outages of any duration.  Despite economic uncertainty in early 2025, we still regard the long term market environment as strong.  

In Europe, 2023 had been an exceptional year and was always unlikely to be matched in 2024.  In 2023, fears of electricity outages had pushed the market up substantially, especially in central Europe.  And demand had also been strong from Ukraine.   But in 2024, fears of outages subsided and the market readjusted back to more normal levels.  This has been felt most in Central and Eastern European countries including major markets like Germany, where 2024 was 24% below 2023.  The net effect is that below 1,500 kVA, the European market was down 11% on 2023, 15% down if price inflation is excluded.  

There's evidence that the readjustment in Europe in 2024 may have bottomed out and normality is returning, although many European economies remain fragile.  

In Africa, 2024 was a very positive year with 17% growth overall, and a strong finish to the year.  This was despite a 50% decline in South Africa with the ending of load shedding.  

In Latin America, the market grew by 11% in 2024, but 90% of this growth was focused on Ecuador, Venezuela and Honduras, all of which were grappling with severe power outages.  Excluding these, the underlying regional growth was around 1%.  

The Middle East had a strong 2024, growing more than 20%.  Saudi Arabia, the largest market in the region was the standout, growing 45%, driven by a very strong construction sector.  UAE, Turkey and Iraq all grew by around 20%.  

India had a very positive 2024.  A year ago it was thought that the new Central Control Pollution Board (CPCB) emissions regulations would dampen demand, but this has not happened.  In 2024, the market had growth of just over 10%.

In the Asia Pacific region, Indonesia and Vietnam, the largest markets in SE Asia, grew by around 25%.  China growth was just below 10%

2024 Global Market > 1500 kVA

Across 2024, above 1,500 kVA the industry grew by around 40% overall.  

Almost 90% of this growth was between 2001 and 4000 kVA, driven by a strong global data center sector.  

We're also seeing some evidence of growth at ratings above 4000 kVA.  Although this remains a relatively small part of the market, with few players, some are actively pushing product ratings to this level to attract business from the data center sector.  In 2024, the  >4000 kVA power band grew by almost 20% and was worth around $700 million. 

In regional terms, the global market above 1,500 kVA is dominated by North America which accounts for more than 40% of the overall opportunity.  

But in growth terms, the fastest growing regions are typically in Asia Pacific, growing around 70% in 2024.   In 2024, the markets in Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia were around double 2023 levels, driven by a strong data center sector. 

The Middle East saw around 40% growth in 2024.  Saudi Arabia almost doubled to nearly $150 million and the UAE increased 40% to around $120 million.  

Latin America grew by 45%, with two thirds of regional growth accounted for by Brazil.  

Africa grew by more than 50% in 2024 to around $300 million.  Much of this growth was driven by the mining sector and the Democratic Republic of Congo,  accounted for more than half of the region's growth.