Known for price competitiveness, China serves as a contract manufacturer for international NGOs and social enterprises such as Motivation, UCP Wheelchairs and LDS Charities. Global brands such as Rehasense and Ottobock have manufacturing plants in China. The average export price for manual wheelchairs (including transport wheelchairs) in 2022 was around US$80 per unit, a figure that has remained steady since 2017 [32].
The Chinese wheelchair industry is fragmented with low market concentration, with the majority being small-scale businesses. According to the survey, a significant number of manufacturers report low sales volumes, with around 80 per cent of suppliers having annual sales of less than US$5 million. This high level of market fragmentation creates pressure on suppliers to remain cost-competitive, which may lead to varied approaches in product design, materials, and production processes as companies seek to differentiate themselves and expand their market share [33].
In China, manual wheelchairs are classified as Class II medical devices. To obtain a license, producers must submit their quality inspection reports and receive approval from NMPA. Clinical trials are not required for manual wheelchairs, as they are exempted along with a list of other medical products, to speed up market availability. According to the China NMPA website in October 2024, 223 certified manual wheelchair products are held by 194 different companies across China.
Wheelchair manufacturing is concentrated in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, Guangdong, and the Jiangsu province.
The Hebei region focuses on low-end products, the Guangdong region on low-to-mid end products (between US$35-US$100), and the Jiangsu region on high-end products (above US$100).
Table 8: Top 5 cities with the highest number of medical-grade manual wheelchair suppliers.
| City | Province | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Foshan | Guangdong | 19% |
| Tianjin | Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region | 12% |
| Hengshui | Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region | 8% |
| Danyang | Jiangsu | 4% |
| Langfang | Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region | 4% |
| Total: | 47% |
Seven manufacturers in the survey reported having medically certified manual wheelchairs and presence in LMICs. Among these, both Dongfang and Kaiyang have an annual production capacity of over 600,000 manual wheelchairs and have shown strong interest in expanding into LMICs. However, few suppliers have registered their products in LMICs. Among the 20 respondents that sell to LMICs, only one has products registered in at least one country. They primarily sell through distributors and exporters at ex- factory prices and do not handle in-country product registration.
24Table 9: Survey respondents with medical-certified manual wheelchairs and footprints in LMICs
| Company | Introduction | LMIC footprint | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dongfang (Foshan) |
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| Hongguan (Hengshui) |
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| Kaiyang (Foshan) |
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| Kangyijian (Hengshui) |
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| New Century (Hengshui) |
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| Xiangrun (Hengshui) |
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| Zhongjin (Changzhou) |
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Four publicly listed medical equipment companies also have medical-certified manual wheelchairs.
Table 10: Public listed companies with medical-certified manual wheelchair business segments
| Company | Annual revenue and exports percentage | Wheelchair segment introduction | Flagship products outside wheelchairs | Global presence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cofoe (Hunan, Changsha) [34] |
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| HL Corp (Shenzhen, Guangdong) [33] |
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| Intco (Zhenjiang, Jiangsu) [35] |
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| Yuwell (Danyang, Jiangsu) [36] |
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A few other manufacturers also have all commonly used international certifications (all CE, FDA, and ISO), domestically certified licenses for manual wheelchairs and international sales experience. However, since they did not participate in the survey, detailed information on their capacity and sales is not available. For reference, the company list is provided here for readers wishing for more information and to make contact.
Table 11: Other wheelchair manufacturers identified with all three CE, FDA and ISO certifications
| Company | Global footprint | Official website |
|---|---|---|
| Caremax (Foshan, Guangdong) | Over 50 countries | https://www.caremax-med.com/ |
| Dayang (Foshan, Guangdong) | Across Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Oceania. | https://www.dayangyiliao.com/ |
| Feiyang (Foshan, Guangdong) | Around 15% of the sales goes to South America and 15% in Southeast Asia | https://feiyangmed.en.alibaba.com/ |
| First Medical (Zhongshan, Guangdong) | Information not available | http://en.fstmed.com/ |
| JBH (Nanjing, Jiangsu) | Countries include US, Canada, Germany, Spain | https://www.jbhwheelchair.com/ |