Ecovacs challenges Samsung, LG with self-cleaning, floor-mopping robot

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Ecovacs challenges Samsung, LG with self-cleaning, floor-mopping robot

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Ecovacs CEO and Vice Chairman David Qian presents the company's vision to Korean reporters at a hotel in Seoul on Feb. 5. [ECOVACS]

Ecovacs CEO and Vice Chairman David Qian presents the company's vision to Korean reporters at a hotel in Seoul on Feb. 5. [ECOVACS]

Chinese manufacturers continue to invade the Korean robot vacuum cleaner market as Ecovacs Robotics launched its latest Deebot X8 Pro Omni product in the country on Wednesday. 
 
Korea's rapidly rising robot vacuum cleaner market led the Chinese manufacturer to release its newest product in Korea before any other countries other than its home turf, according to Ecovacs. 
 
“Korea has eye for premium products, eye for new technology and eye for the best cleaning technology,” David Qian, CEO and vice chairman of Ecovacs, told Korean reporters at a hotel in Seoul on Wednesday. 
 
“Korea is an important market where we want to continue to do better.”
 
Deebot X8 Pro Omni comes with a number of innovative technologies such as a self-cleaning mop. Its Ozmo Roller Instant Self-Washing Technology is able to remove dirty water from the roller mop after each pass over the floor, preventing a situation where a contaminated mop spreads dirt and germs while cleaning. 
 
Qian showed confidence against all-in-one robot cleaners launched by Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics last year. 
 
“It is our know-how and insights that we have accumulated over the years that differentiated ourselves,” the CEO said. 
 
“A lot of traditional brands see this as a vacuum business, but if you consider the amount of engineering that goes into it, it is more than that. It is not surprising to see new brands, because [robot vacuum cleaners] are a fast-growing sector in home appliances globally. We are very confident about our position. Although they launched the rollable mops, we have made more innovations on it, such as the Rollable Ozmo.”
 
Ecovacs, a 26-year-old company founded in Suzhou, China, is a technology-concentrated company for home care robotics brands. 
 
With an embedded lidar sensor that's internally developed, Ecovacs was able to make the Deebot X8 Pro Omni thinner, allowing it to go under sofas and beds. 
 
Ecovacs plans to launch the Winbot, a window-mopping robot that can clean mirrors or shower booths at home, in Korea later this year. 
 
Korea's robotic vacuum market has long been engulfed by Chinese brands represented by Roborock. The Xiaomi-backed brand has topped the Korean market for three consecutive years since 2022. It accounted for 45 percent of the market in Korea for the first half of 2024, according to industry data. 
 
To counter such trends, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics launched their all-in-one robotic cleaners last year for the first time, which can both vacuum and mop.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [[email protected]]
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