In 2025, the global glass industry exhibits three key characteristics: "the boom in the smart sector, optimized regional layout, and accelerated green compliance". Smart glass, capacity expansion in the Middle East, and response to carbon tariffs have become core issues driving the industry's development. Data shows that the global smart glass market scale is expected to reach 21 billion yuan this year, maintaining a high compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.5%, with the Chinese market contributing 67% of the share and serving as the global growth engine.
Smart glass stands out as the biggest highlight, with demand surging in both the construction and automotive sectors. In construction, driven by the "dual-carbon policy", the penetration rate of dimmable glass and electrochromic glass in newly-built public buildings has risen from less than 5% to 15%. PDLC-based products account for 58% of the market, becoming the mainstream choice for commercial partitions. In the new energy vehicle (NEV) sector, the installation rate of smart dimmable sunroofs and HUD (Head-Up Display) windshields exceeds 40%, with the per-vehicle value surpassing 2,000 yuan. The 2025 market scale for vehicle-matching smart glass is expected to exceed 8 billion yuan. Enterprises such as CSG Group and Lens Technology have built smart glass production lines with an annual capacity of millions of square meters, and their technologies are evolving toward lightweight and multi-functional integration.
The Middle East has become a new hotspot for global layout, with Chinese enterprises concentrating on building factories there. CSG Group invested 81.7 million US dollars to construct an intelligent manufacturing plant in Abu Dhabi, UAE, focusing on energy-saving coated glass production. With an annual capacity of 5 million square meters, the plant will serve markets in Europe, Africa, and the Americas. At the same time，Adamden has simultaneously laid out a photovoltaic glass project in the UAE, investing 240 million US dollars to build a kiln with a daily melting capacity of 1,600 tons, targeting the photovoltaic boom in the Middle East. Both projects are located in the KEZAD Free Trade Zone (FTZ), leveraging policy dividends to achieve localized supply and reduce trade barriers.
The EU's carbon policies are forcing the industry to accelerate green transformation, and enterprises are responding from multiple dimensions. During the pilot phase of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), Low-E glass exported to the EU already incurs an additional carbon cost of 1.2-1.8 euros per square meter. After full implementation, export costs will increase by 12%-15%. Chinese enterprises are taking swift actions: enterprises in the Pearl River Delta are establishing assembly bases in Southeast Asia; leading enterprises are switching to green electricity production to avoid tariffs; the coverage rate of electric melting technology has risen to 38%; and low-carbon melting technology has reduced energy consumption by 30%. Furthermore, digital transformation is accelerating: AI quality inspection systems have controlled the defect rate below 0.2%, and the per capita output of German enterprises has increased by 34% compared with 2021.
Industry analysts point out that the penetration of smart technologies, expansion into emerging markets, and green compliance transformation have become the core of competition in the glass industry. Enterprises with technological barriers and global layout capabilities will gain advantages in industrial restructuring, driving the industry toward high value-added and sustainable development.
