Of the thousands of manufacturers at the peak of the 1900s, only a few dozen remain today. This consolidation is not yet complete. Of the big names, which were all founded around 1850, some are still operating successfully after 170 years, such as Steinway & Sons and C. Bechstein. Yamaha has also been building pianos for 120 years. Only rarely does someone completely new enter production, like Fazioli.
Due to generational and ownership changes, it is not uncommon to find completely different companies and completely different manufacturing methods behind well-known names than the name would suggest. Different brands all come from the same factories. Individuality in piano manufacturing is hardly to be found today, as too few buyers honour this. In the past, better pianos were not necessarily built - more time and individuality was invested in the instruments and these were sold to solvent buyers in less globally dominated markets.
Today, fewer than half a million new acoustic upright and grand pianos are produced worldwide every year. The market leader is Yamaha. It is estimated that >90% of the instruments built each year are manufactured in China and other Asian countries. According to manufacturers, around 7,000 new upright and grand pianos are manufactured in Germany every year - of which well over ~50% are exported.
The demand for pianos has not shifted in favour of digital pianos, but has fallen dramatically compared to earlier times. In addition, and as a result, there is a huge oversupply of used pianos.
