With the widespread use of four types of meters, price differentials and the evolution of the Internet of Things, the smart meter industry in China is rapidly developing. In 2016, the cumulative shipment of smart meters in China was 280 million units, with a CAGR of 20.5% from 2011 to 2016. With the further popularization of smart meters in various fields, the market growth will slow down in the future and 2017-2021 shipments will show an average annual growth rate of over 10.0%.

From a market segment perspective, China's smart meter market is currently the most mature, 2016 shipments accounted for more than 70% of the country's total shipments. In addition, the smart meter market has the highest penetration rate of 90%, followed by smart gas meters accounting for 55%, smart meters and smart heat meters, respectively, less than 20%.

Smart Meters: Chinese smart meter shipments reached 130 million units in 2016 with a CAGR of 7.1% in 2011-2016. Open tender is mainly held by the State Grid and China Southern Power Grid, the goal is 2S single-phase smart meters (accounting for more than 85% of the total tender). Due to the close saturation of the smart meter retrofitting market, the growth mainly comes from new residential buildings. However, China again cut its real estate growth target during the "13th Five-Year Plan" period (2016-2020). Therefore, it is estimated that the compound annual growth rate of shipments in 2017-2021 will be between 3% -5%.

Smart Water Meter: China's smart water meter shipped 18.49 million units in 2016, with a CAGR of 20.2% in 2011-2016. Due to lower permeability, smart meter market demand will see steady growth driven by the "Smart Water" program in the coming years. Shipments in 2017 are estimated at 21.03 million units and 2021 shipments of 34 million units.

Smart Gas Meter: Driven by the national policies, the traditional gas meter has been gradually transformed into an intelligent one, contributing to the vigorous development of the smart gas meter market. In 2016, China's smart gas meter shipments reached 23.37 million with a CAGR of 26.2% in 2011-2016. In the future, as the process of converting coal into natural gas accelerates, the demand for smart gas meters will continue to rise, and shipments in 2017-2021 will show an average annual growth rate of at least 15%.

Smart Energy Meters: Used mainly in the northern region, the heat meter has been slow to grow in an immature market and a sector without a single standard compared to several other smart meters. Shipments of 3.31 million units in 2016, an increase of 1.2%. Some southern cities have indicated their intention to heat their homes in winter, and if this idea comes true, new demands will be made on calorimeters.