‘Technology should preserve what


44


really matters’ From smarter energy management to bigger built-in refrigeration and a renewed focus on freshness, longevity and repairability, Liebherr used IFA 2026 to show how technology can quietly make a difference in the home. Will McGill reports from Berlin.


have to think about it. At IFA 2026, Liebherr’s argument was that the same should increasingly be true of the technology inside it. Under


T matters’,


here are few products in the home expected to work quite as relentlessly as the humble fridge. It is switched on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and, ideally, consumers barely


the show theme ‘Preserve what the refrigeration specialist used


its Berlin press conference to talk artificial intelligence, energy efficiency, food preservation and the changing relationship between manufacturers, retailers and consumers. But before looking ahead, Liebherr reflected on the business behind those new products. Despite geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, the wider Liebherr Group generated €14.77 billion in revenue during 2025 and continued what it described as profitable growth. More than €1 billion was invested during the year, with the company expecting an upward trend in 2026. Its refrigeration and freezing division also had a strong year, generating €1.17 billion in revenue, an increase of 6.9 per cent compared


with 2024, with Europe and India among the markets driving growth. The company said it had strengthened its position across its European home markets, including Germany, where it claimed to be the most purchased refrigeration brand among consumers and had once again been ranked number one by electrical retailers in the Markt Intern survey. Those results were presented as evidence that its strategy of differentiating itself through quality, longevity, efficiency and service is working. That relationship with the specialist electrical trade also featured heavily. As buying becomes increasingly digital and AI begins to influence how consumers research and choose products, Liebherr acknowledged that expectations around availability, speed and service are changing too. Rather than viewing that as a reason to move


away from retailers, the company said it intends to remain a “reliable partner” to the specialist trade. Investment in logistics is part of that. Optimisation of Liebherr’s German logistics operation has reduced delivery times through its webshop by 50 per cent, according to the company, while improvements have also


shortened response and delivery times for retail partners. Training and communication remain another part of the strategy, helping retailers explain what can otherwise be fairly technical differences between one refrigeration appliance and another. The messages Liebherr wants communicated


are: quality, longer-lasting freshness, lower energy consumption, long product life, timeless design and dependable service. And increasingly, AI is sitting behind some of those claims.


AI, without the fuss There was no escaping artificial intelligence at IFA this year, but Liebherr’s approach was refreshingly less about putting the letters ‘AI’ on everything and more about making the technology do something useful, which is how it should be done. One example is True Adapt.


The adaptive technology continuously


analyses the real conditions inside a consumer’s freezer, alongside its actual energy consumption, and automatically adjusts operation depending on usage and its surrounding environment. Different households inevitably use appliances differently - from how often the door is opened to the conditions of the room in which the appliance is installed - and True Adapt is designed to respond accordingly.


“The system uses the same principles that many people associate with good AI: learning, analysing, adapting and optimising,” Johannes Ruf explained. The result, Liebherr says,


is lower energy


consumption without requiring the customer to constantly adjust settings themselves. From the first quarter of 2027, all of the company’s freestanding freezers in energy efficiency classes A to C will feature the technology.


It accompanies another efficiency-focused launch: Liebherr’s first 60cm-wide, 145cm-high freezer in energy efficiency class A. The company is also extending the intelligence beyond the appliance itself. From 2027, Energy Monitoring within the SmartDevice app will allow users to see the real-world energy performance of a connected appliance, including weekly electricity consumption, temperature patterns and door openings.


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