(Yicai) June 25 -- Bosch Home Comfort Group plans to open 300 more stores in China this year after adding 400 last year, as the sustainable heating and cooling solutions unit of Germany's Bosch adapts to changes in consumer demand in the Chinese market, according to its local vice president of sales.

Bosch Home Comfort achieved double-digit sales growth in China last year despite the company’s project-based business contracting due to the downturn in the real estate sector, Li Lintao told Yicai, adding that that momentum was sustained in the first five months of this year.

In China, the Wetzlar-based company offers consumers one-stop solutions for heating, cooling, hot-water supply, and air treatment equipment, and the firm recently opened its first i-Hybrid Comfort System flagship store worldwide in Shanghai.

“Technological innovation, reduced product costs, and rising consumer living standards, combined with China's policies on home appliance trade-ins and carbon neutrality, have positioned our one-stop heating, cooling, hot water, and air treatment solutions at the cusp of rapidly growing demand," said Wang Yunfeng, senior marketing director at Bosch Home Comfort China.

With the aim of boosting consumer spending on greener white goods, China has expanded its home appliance trade-in program to include more product categories and offer 15 percent to 20 percent purchase subsidies, with CNY300 billion (USD41.8 billion) allocated to the program for this year.

The heat pump market has grown rapidly in recent years, driven by rising consumer spending power and China's “dual carbon” policy, Li pointed out. "If real estate projects adopt heat pumps and green energy-saving solutions, developers can receive relevant government subsidies and other preferential policies,” he said.

As part of its pledge to achieve peak carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, the Chinese government’s “dual carbon” policy provides financial incentives for the installation of heat pumps, which transfer and intensify heat from the outside air or ground into a building for heating and hot water.

As China's high-end consumer base expands, more people are willing to pay for environmentally friendly and healthy materials and equipment, Chen Yong, secretary-general of the design academic committee at the Shanghai Interior Decoration Industry Association, said to Yicai. “Brick-and-mortar stores remain crucial for any home furnishing brand or product,” he added.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev