Elevator And Escalator Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends And Forecast (2025 - 2030)

Global Elevator And Escalator Market Trends and Insights

Rapid Urbanisation and High-Rise Construction

Relentless city growth underpins the elevator and escalator market. China aims to retrofit 2 million lifts, enabling older tenants to access higher floors, a social program that drives retrofit volumes significantly above those of new builds. In parallel, signature projects such as Riyadh’s proposed 2,000 m tower and Oklahoma City’s Legends Tower illustrate how extreme heights are normalising in both mature and emerging economies. High-rise developers now specify aerodynamic elevator cars and lightweight hoisting materials that cut deadweight and allow taller shafts. Developers also seek property-value gains: the addition of lifts increased resale values by 5.75% in older Beijing apartments, a tangible incentive for landlords to approve retrofits.^{[1]Xiao-Ping Li, “Elevator Installation and Housing Prices,” Advances in Civil Engineering, hindawi.com} Together, these factors reinforce a durable, multi-year project pipeline that supports both installation and service revenue in the elevator and escalator market.

Ageing Installed Base Requiring Modernisation

Roughly 10 million lifts worldwide have crossed the 15-year threshold and now face component obsolescence. The Dover DMC controller failure, which stranded 80,000 units when parts ran out, highlights the economic trigger that shifts landlords from piecemeal repairs to full modernisation. The United States alone tracks 1.3 million lifts, many of which have been in service for over 20 years, and cities such as New York report 70,000 units at end-of-life, pushing upgrade demand to nearly 5% a year. Fresh control packages lower energy use by up to 30% and satisfy greenhouse-gas caps such as New York’s Local Law 97. KONE reports that its energy-recovery packages can cut consumption by 70%, supplying a clear cost-saving narrative for asset owners. These economics secure higher-margin orders that support the elevator and escalator market even when new construction slows.

Stricter Safety Codes Accelerating Replacements

Elevator regulations now require brighter cabins, full-height light curtains, and reinforced car doors, standards formalised in EN 81-20/50 and mandated across the European Union since 2017. Canada’s CSA B44-19 code requires two-way video calls and unique software IDs, making it challenging to grandfather older control boards.^{[2]Technical Safety BC, “CSA B44-19 Elevator Code,” technicalsafetybc.ca} In the United States, ADA compliance further forces owners to upgrade legacy cars for universal access. Escalators face parallel rules on braking and skirt-panel deflection. Compliance deadlines leave little room for incremental retrofits, forcing owners to opt for turnkey modernization packages. The resulting surge in code-driven projects underpins a significant share of forecast revenue in the elevator and escalator market.

Escalating Demand for Green-Labelled Products

Energy codes tighten each year, and building certifications now allocate specific points for lift efficiency. Machine-room-less designs reduce energy use by up to 80% while regenerative drives recycle braking energy back into the building grid. California’s 2019 energy code imposes strict lighting and fan-efficiency limits for elevator cabs.^{[3]California Energy Commission, “2019 Building Energy Efficiency Standards,” energy.ca.gov} Green building groups estimate that lift upgrades can reduce total building energy consumption by up to 5% and peak loads by far more, a significant benefit for owners seeking to earn LEED points. TK Elevator’s Tennessee plant, the first in its segment to achieve ISO 50001 certification, demonstrates how manufacturers are aligning upstream production with downstream efficiency targets. Collectively, eco-label adoption cements long-run growth prospects for the elevator and escalator market.

High Upfront Capital Expenditure

Elevator retrofits carry heavy ticket prices, especially in older mid-rise blocks with structural quirks. China’s program to install lifts in walk-up housing has stalled due to funding disputes, with only 36,000 units installed in 2023, despite a goal of 2 million units. Some OEMs now offer zero-capex packages, recouping costs via per-ride fees, similar to infrastructure concession models. Even so, cash-flow hurdles remain a drag on timely adoption, trimming the growth of the elevator and escalator market in price-sensitive segments.

Volatile Raw-Material Prices and Chip Shortages

Steel prices surged 85.3% from February 2020 to May 2023, wiping out standard margin buffers for OEMs and contractors. Semiconductor shortages then delayed delivery of modern control boards, forcing project reschedules and extended building-site overheads. KONE flagged the issue in its 2021 results, noting higher costs and longer lead times on key electronic parts. While some costs have retreated, volatility continues to keep risk premia elevated.

Segment Analysis

By Product Type: Moving Walkways Gain Momentum in Transit Hubs

Passenger elevators dominated revenue in 2024, with a 64.8% share, underscoring their ubiquity across residential towers and corporate campuses. Moving walkways, despite a smaller base, are forecast to log the quickest gains at 7.5% CAGR as airports and metro stations invest in seamless passenger flow. Perth Airport’s USD 31 million skybridge, equipped with four moving walkways that can carry 7,300 passengers per hour, is a flagship example that illustrates the utility of infrastructure. In contrast, freight lifts cater to industrial needs where payloads of up to 10,000 kg and wider car doors are required. At the niche end, high-speed systems paired with lightweight hoisting ropes redefine skyscraper design possibilities; KONE’s Ultrarope enables cabins to climb to 1,000 m, opening up new demand in super-tall projects.

The elevator and escalator market size for passenger elevators is projected to expand steadily as renovation cycles coincide with smart-building retrofits. Conversely, the elevator and escalator market size for moving walkways is expected to accelerate faster, albeit from a smaller base, driven by the development of new rail concourses across Asia and the Middle East. Within 2025-2030, analysts expect the product-line mix to tilt slightly toward transit-oriented units, thereby reinforcing diversified revenue streams across the elevator and escalator industry.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Technology: Machine-Room-Less Designs Maximise Floorplate Value

Traction technology accounted for 70.5% of the elevator and escalator market in 2024, riding on energy efficiency and smooth ride quality. Machine-room-less variants now capture a growing share of traction installations and are projected to post a 7.9% CAGR over the forecast period. By embedding the motor inside the hoistway, MRL lifts free up rooftop or basement space that owners can monetise for leasable floor area. They also reduce idle power draw through the use of smaller gearless motors, pushing sustainability targets even further. Hydraulic lifts still serve low-rise blocks but face efficiency headwinds and often require costly oil-cooling systems.

The elevator and escalator market share of MRL designs will swell as building codes prioritise energy and space metrics. Regenerative drives bolster that appeal by feeding captured braking energy to the grid, a feature that slices elevator operating expenditure. Building-topology software now simulates mixed-use traffic to fine-tune dispatch algorithms, raising the technology barrier for new entrants in the elevator and escalator industry.

By Service: Modernisation Becomes the Margin Engine

New installations accounted for 48.2% of the elevator and escalator market size in 2024, directly tied to global construction starts. Modernisation revenue, however, is poised for an 8.1% CAGR through 2030 as safety codes and energy mandates become stricter. Otis closed 2024 with an 18% year-on-year jump in modernisation backlog, proof that owners prefer one-shot upgrades over repetitive fixes. OEMs also convert modernisation wins into long-tail maintenance contracts that feature AI-powered condition monitoring. Service units often achieve gross margins above 25%, significantly higher than those in hardware segments.

The elevator and escalator market size for maintenance alone already eclipses equipment sales in many mature regions. Roughly 75% of the global installed base is still serviced by non-OEM mechanics, revealing a fragmented field ripe for consolidation. As predictive analytics mature, OEMs plan to reclaim share by marketing uptime guarantees backed by IoT dashboards, adding a recurring-revenue moat that reshapes competition in the elevator and escalator market.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By End-user: Infrastructure Push Rewrites Growth Geometry

Residential towers owned 43.7% of 2024 revenue as urban apartments proliferated. Infrastructure projects — including airports, metros, and mixed-use hubs — are expected to grow at the fastest rate of 7.0% CAGR to 2030, driven by mega-developments in the Gulf and Southeast Asia. Otis supplied 161 lifts, 122 escalators, and 58 moving walks for Abu Dhabi’s new terminal, which lifts capacity to 30 million passengers a year. Such turnkey deals anchor brand visibility and create decades of service income.

Office, retail, and hospitality segments display mixed momentum, yet all rely on premium ride comfort and destination dispatch to minimise lobby crowding. Industrial lifts are designed for harsher operating cycles, featuring extra-thick guide rails and explosion-proof wiring. The elevator and escalator market now sees infrastructure clients demanding platform-wide API access, so station operators can integrate lifts into central control rooms —a shift that aligns with broader transit digitalization.

Geography Analysis

The Asia-Pacific region retained a 62.4% share of the elevator and escalator market in 2024 and is projected to compound at a 6.3% annual rate through 2030. China’s retrofit program for elder-friendly apartments and India’s rail and airport expansions drive volume growth, while Southeast Asia adds greenfield towers for tourism and data center campuses. The elevator and escalator market size in India alone crossed 67,000 new units in fiscal 2023 and continues to rise at a steady 6-7% annual clip.

North America presents a picture of maturity mixed with regulatory dynamism. Modernisation drives most spend, with roughly 1.3 million installed units approaching 20 years of service. Strict seismic and ADA updates in California and New York fuel upgrade demand. The elevator and escalator market size for North American modernisation is thus set to outpace new builds through the horizon period.

Europe exhibits parallel patterns: stringent EN 81 standards and carbon-reduction targets prompt replacements more quickly than new-build orders. Meanwhile, the Middle East and Africa capture attention with skyline projects tied to economic diversification agendas. TK Elevator’s new Saudi joint venture, valued at EUR 160 million, secures local manufacturing as the kingdom prepares for a multi-city construction drive. These regional strands collectively underpin a balanced global outlook for the elevator and escalator market.