Is the 618 Air Conditioner Sales Event the Hottest Ever? High Temperatures Coincide with a Sharp Rise in Copper Prices, and "Pure Copper" Unexpectedly Becomes the Biggest Selling Point

During the annual 618 promotion, air conditioners are always one of the most competitive product categories.

However, this year is a bit different, especially regarding the controversy over "aluminum replacing copper". Consumers are worried that air conditioner manufacturers may replace copper pipes with aluminum pipes to cut costs. It's hard to tell the difference just by looking at the appearance. Once the quality is compromised, consumers won't notice until they've used the air conditioner for a few years. With the rising costs and the price cuts during the promotion, it's inevitable for people to feel uneasy. The listed prices of air conditioners on various platforms have collectively dropped. The marked prices of many 1.5 - horsepower, first - level energy - efficient wall - mounted air conditioners have reached the range of 1,300 to 1,500 yuan.

(Image source: JD.com)

At this time, people may start to wonder whether the decreasing prices of air conditioners this year are due to genuine large - scale promotions or a reduction in configuration and materials.

The soaring costs have put great pressure on the air conditioner market this year

Data from Aowei Cloud Network shows that in the first quarter of 2026, the retail sales of air conditioners decreased by 6.2% year - on - year. The decline continued to widen from April to May, and the annual sales are expected to shrink by about 8.5%. Against this background, brands have increased their promotion efforts during the 618 period. This is not only the usual rhythm to boost sales during the peak season but also benefits from the national subsidy policy. Both factors have jointly contributed to this price drop.

Fortunately, "unfavorable weather" may lead to stronger consumer demand for air conditioners this year compared to previous years. The National Climate Center predicts that in the summer of 2026, the average temperature across the country will be higher than normal, and the number of high - temperature days will be more than usual, especially in the south and Xinjiang. Data shows that there will be a total of 40 days in the dog days of 2026, 10 days more than the 30 days in 2025. All the extra days are in the middle dog days, which is the most uncomfortable period of the year. Referring to the experience in 2025, the 618 promotion period combined with the high - temperature in July is the peak sales period for air conditioners.

(Image source: Leikeji's chart)

During the same period last year, with the promotion and high - temperature, the annual shipment volume exceeded 102 million units.

Although there is sales demand, the rising costs cannot be ignored. On the one hand, the core of the recent controversy is the rising copper price. The copper price has been rising continuously in the past five years. The LME copper price has increased by more than 200% compared to the low point in March 2020. As of late April 2026, the price of Shanghai copper has reached about 103,000 yuan per ton. Copper accounts for about 20% of the cost of an air conditioner. The copper material cost of an ordinary household air conditioner is at least 200 - 300 yuan more than a few years ago, and at most 500 - 600 yuan more. For mid - and low - end models, the profit margin is even slimmer.

Under the cost pressure, at the beginning of 2026, the industry witnessed a wave of collective price increases. Many enterprises such as Hisense, Aux, Midea, TCL, and Chigo officially announced price adjustments, with the range between 3% and 10%. The national subsidy happened to offset a part of the price increase at this time. In 2026, the policy of trading in old home appliances for new ones continued. First - level energy - efficient air conditioners are subsidized at 15% of the sales price, with a single - item cap of 1,500 yuan. So consumers haven't seen the soaring price of air conditioners for the time being. In fact, it's the subsidy that has temporarily supported the price.

(Image source: Sina Technology)

In March 2025, a document jointly issued by ten departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology clearly included aluminum heat - exchange tubes for air conditioner heat exchangers in the key direction of "saving copper with aluminum". However, consumers have raised doubts. "Are you secretly replacing copper tubes with aluminum tubes and cutting corners?" More subtly, the "aluminum replacing copper" mainly involves the aluminum tubes inside the heat exchanger, while the "copper tubes" that consumers are most familiar with and easy to understand usually refer to the connecting tubes between the indoor and outdoor units. They are different parts but are often confused in discussions.

This ambiguity has a significant impact on the sales of the air conditioner market during this year's 618 promotion. Consumers are worried that the air conditioners are not cheap enough and also concerned about possible corner - cutting. Of course, air conditioner manufacturers have also felt the controversy. So we can see that almost all manufacturers are trying a new selling point this year, which is "pure copper".

"Pure copper tubes" have become a major selling point for 618 air conditioners

Take the 1.5 - horsepower, first - level energy - efficient wall - mounted air conditioners of several mainstream brands on JD.com during the 618 period. After the national subsidy, the prices are roughly divided into three levels. TCL and Xiaomi are concentrated in the range of 1,359 to 1,572 yuan. The main products of Midea are in the range of 1,614 to 1,784 yuan. Gree has the highest price range, around 2,099 to 2,379 yuan. These are the prices after the national subsidy. The subsidy rate is generally around 15%, and the original listed prices are higher than these.

TCL and Xiaomi follow a cost - effective strategy. Xiaomi relies on the Mi Home ecosystem and online channels to quickly increase sales. In recent years, its growth rate in the domestic market has been the fastest among the mainstream brands. The sales volume of a certain 1.5 - horsepower wall - mounted air conditioner of Mi Home on JD.com has exceeded 4 million units. Midea is in the middle position. It has the widest coverage of SKUs, with products ranging from entry - level to mid - and high - end. It boosts sales with mid - end products and makes profits from high - end products. Its price is one level higher than that of TCL and Xiaomi, but its sales volume is also good. Gree has always maintained a relatively high price. At the beginning of this year, Gree clearly stated that it would cooperate with the implementation of the national subsidy policy and would not follow the price increase for household air conditioners.

(Image source: JD.com)

This means that consumers can clearly feel the price drop this time. The national subsidy policy has played a key role in effectively balancing the pressure brought by the rising raw material costs. However, once the subsidy quota is used up or the policy is tightened, the price will rebound. So if you have a plan to buy an air conditioner, 618 is indeed a time point worth considering.

Compared with the price, the "pure copper war" during this year's 618 is more interesting.

Several brands have started to actively mark words such as "pure copper tubes", "copper tube heat exchange", and "genuine copper materials" in the product titles or prominent positions on the product pages. A co - branded product of TCL directly writes "pure copper tubes" in the title. The customer service entrance of Gree uses the slogan "Buy Gree's genuine copper air conditioners during 618". Midea and Xiaomi have also marked relevant information on their product pages.

(Image source: TCL JD flagship store)

Before the controversy over "aluminum replacing copper" emerged, "copper tubes" were the default configuration in the industry, and no brand would write it in the title because it was unnecessary. Now it has become a selling point and even a way for brands to distinguish themselves from their competitors, which shows that consumers' doubts have had a sufficient impact on product marketing. In other words, if manufacturers don't prove their innocence, they will seem more like they are doing something wrong.

The contradiction lies in that while the industry is promoting the technological exploration of "aluminum replacing copper", on the product pages facing consumers, brands are actively emphasizing "copper tubes" to respond to consumers' concerns about materials. In this regard, whether the air conditioners are cheap during this year's 618 is not the toughest battle for manufacturers. It's more difficult to gain consumers' trust.

Is it the annual low price? Not necessarily

Since it's the mid - year promotion, most consumers who don't pay much attention to materials care more about the price. As long as the price is affordable, whether it's aluminum or copper is not the most crucial factor. After all, today's leading brands such as Midea, TCL, Haier, and Hisense are all large manufacturers with core technologies.

However, the price is not always what it seems on the surface.

The historical price records on third - party platforms show that when looking at the prices during this 618 in a six - month time frame, not every model is at its historical low. The current price of Gree Tianyi after the national subsidy is about 2,099 yuan, but the third - party platform records show that the final price after the regional subsidy at the end of last year was in the range of 1,700 to 1,870 yuan, which is much cheaper than the current price. In the price tracking of Xiaomi Mi Home's 1.5 - horsepower ultra - energy - efficient air conditioner on the third - party platform, there was a record of about 1,399 yuan in early May 2026, which is nearly 170 yuan cheaper than the current 618 price. The price record of TCL's JD co - branded model in March 2026 was already about 1,350 yuan, almost the same as the current 618 price, indicating that the pricing of this model has been relatively stable and has remained in the same price range during the 618 period.

(Image source: Leikeji's chart)

This doesn't mean that "618 is useless". Instead, the price trends of different models at different time points vary greatly. Some models do have obvious price cuts around 618, while some maintain low prices all year round and don't have additional discounts during the promotion period. If you only focus on the "618" label when placing an order, you may miss a better opportunity or buy at a price that is not actually a good deal.

In addition to the price of the air conditioner, we also need to pay attention to the additional value - added fees.

Newly purchased air conditioners usually come with free on - site installation. However, when the standard accessories are exceeded or the installation environment is complex, additional fees will occur. According to the publicly available charging items on JD.com's help center, the high - altitude operation fee is 100 yuan per unit (200 yuan if installed by hanging from the rooftop with a rope). The fee for lengthening the connecting tube of a wall - mounted air conditioner is 90 yuan per meter, the fee for an outdoor unit bracket of a wall - mounted air conditioner is 40 yuan per set, and the fee for drilling a hole in a concrete wall is 80 yuan per hole.

(Image source: Leikeji's chart)

Individually, these fees don't seem like a large amount, but when combined, it's different. Take a common installation scenario on a middle - floor building where the pipeline is more than 3 meters long and a new hole needs to be drilled in the concrete wall. If we include a 100 - yuan high - altitude fee, about 180 yuan for a 2 - meter lengthened tube, and 80 yuan for drilling, the total of these three items is 360 yuan. If a new bracket is also needed, it will easily exceed 400 yuan.

Taking a TCL air conditioner with a listed price of about 1,359 yuan as an example, the 400 - yuan installation surcharge is equivalent to nearly 30% more of the cost. What's more troublesome is that it's difficult to accurately estimate this cost before placing an order. It can only be finally confirmed after the installation master arrives. By that time, the air conditioner has already been delivered, and there is little room for bargaining.

So before placing an order, it's best to figure out your home's installation conditions in advance: the floor where the outdoor unit will be installed, whether the outdoor unit bracket can still be used, the approximate distance between the indoor and outdoor units, and whether the wall is a brick wall or concrete. Then add these possible additional fees to the price of the air conditioner itself and compare the prices. This will be more intuitive.

Of course, some consumers may still be concerned about the issue of "aluminum replacing copper". The JD customer service or product pages of several brands have provided relatively clear explanations. The Xiaomi customer service confirmed that the standard configuration of the 1.5 - horsepower ultra - energy - efficient wall - mounted air conditioner of Mi Home includes a 3 - meter full - copper tube and provided the charging references for the lengthened tube and bracket (about 100 yuan per meter for the lengthened