(Yicai) July 3 -- The scorching heat wave gripping Spain, France, Italy, and other parts of Europe since last month has presented Chinese air conditioner makers with a timely sales boost.

Haier Smart Home, the listed arm of home appliance giant Haier Group, has seen its air con sales in Europe surge 30 percent since January compared with the same period last year, an insider at the Qingdao-based company told Yicai. Sales in Italy and Spain have been particularly high, the person added.

June was among the hottest in Europe on record, with the extreme heat expected to continue this month, according to a report released by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on July 1.

The mercury in some European cities has exceeded 40 degrees Celsius, triggering a sudden surge in demand for air conditioning units, said Bai Rongyao, assistant president of Zhuhai-based white goods giant Gree Electric Appliances, adding that the inventory of local dealers has shriveled.

In addition to the heat dome now over Europe, the region's environmental policies have also led to new opportunities for Chinese air con makers, said Long Fei, an analyst at research firm ChinaIOL. Over the past two years, Europe has been cranking up its transition to eco‑friendly refrigerants, forcing many older air con units to be retired and boosting demand for new ones, he noted.

China's exports of home air conditioners ticked up 0.1 percent to 9.7 million units in May from a year earlier, with their value jumping 2.3 percent to USD1.9 billion, according to the latest data from ChinaIOL. Exports to Europe accounted for 19.6 percent of the total, up from 17.9 percent.

Europe’s heat wave has opened a sales window for Chinese manufacturers, Wang Hongji, head of China home appliance research at German market research firm GKF, told Yicai. But the market has very high energy efficiency requirements, so Midea Group, Haier, and other industry leaders still need to crack the premium segment to establish a strong brand image there, he pointed out.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev