“New installations of industrial robots show that Europe and America are lagging behind – and that car manufacturers are losing their prestige.
According to new figures from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), the global industrial balance of power is clear: Asia has pulled ahead, Europe has lost ground, and America no longer plays a significant role. Decisive for this ranking are the industrial robots newly installed last year, which the Frankfurt-based federation announced in a digital press conference: Around 542,000 such robots were put into operation worldwide last year, which firstly confirms the trend: It is the fourth year in a row that the half-million mark for new industrial robots – a benchmark of industrial automation and performance – has been exceeded, although only slightly more than in 2023 (541,000) and less than in the record year of 2022 (553,000).
Secondly, growth in Asia is once again particularly strong: 74 percent of new units were installed there, 16 percent in Europe, nine percent in the United States. All in all, twice as many robots are working in factories worldwide today as ten years ago.
What is happening in China is, as usual, unprecedented. In the world's largest robot market, two million industrial robots were installed last year – an unprecedented number. In 2024 alone, 295,000 new units were installed in the country. This means that more than half of all new robots (54 percent) are used in Chinese industry; this total is also a new record. What has changed, however, is that Chinese manufacturers have, for the first time, sold more robots in their domestic market than European suppliers. For global market leaders like ABB from Switzerland or Fanuc and Yaskawa from Japan, the competitive situation in China is therefore intensifying. The market share of Chinese manufacturers in their own country rose to 57 percent, after having been at 28 percent ten years ago.
With 44,500 new industrial robots in 2024, Japan is the global number two. Germany (27,000) ranks fifth, while the USA came in third globally with 34,200 units. However, there are only a few American manufacturers, meaning that companies from Japan and Europe were the primary buyers of new installations. The transition of many industries to the digital and automated age is bringing about "an enormous increase in demand," said Takayuki Ito, president of the Japanese IFR and former Fanuc manager.
Currently, 4.66 million industrial robots are in operation in factories worldwide, nine percent more than the previous year.
The automotive industry, for many years the main customer of industrial robots and by far the most important customer sector for manufacturers, has lost ground. The electrical industry has overtaken it in terms of new installations, increasing by two percent, while car manufacturers experienced a global decline of seven percent; in Germany, new installations in the automotive industry even fell by 25 percent. Other sectors, however, have grown rapidly in this area, for example, the food industry with a global increase of 42 percent.
The figures align with the impressions of Michael Jürgens, CEO of the robotics division of KUKA in Augsburg, Germany's largest robotics manufacturer with annual sales of nearly four billion euros – which has been under Chinese ownership since its acquisition by the household appliance group Midea in 2016. "We are observing a clear shift in demand," Jürgens told the F.A.Z. Traditional industries are increasingly being supplemented by demand from the electronics, consumer goods, and logistics sectors. "Demand is growing rapidly, particularly in intralogistics and collaborative applications."
At the same time, medium-sized businesses are increasingly investing in automation. This opens up new market segments and is "the foundation for further growth."
The automotive industry remains important but is under considerable pressure to transform. Automation is "not just an option, but the key technology – as an answer to rising cost pressures and the shortage of skilled workers," said Jürgens. "We are seeing investments increasingly shifting from traditional production lines to flexible cells for e-mobility and battery assembly." Demand is rising significantly in China and the USA, while Investments in Europe and Germany are currently rather subdued.
All in all, the robotics industry is not immune to the current global disruptions, concludes the IFR. However, this does not change the positive outlook: cost pressures, labor shortages, advances in artificial intelligence, and the resulting increased opportunities also the robotics industry – all of this will provide further momentum. This year, the association anticipates growth of six percent to 575,000 new industrial robots, and by 2028, the 700,000 mark will be surpassed.
In addition, there are other robot classes that – starting from a lower base – show great promise. Service robots, for example, have gained ground in many applications, whether for transport and logistics (14 percent) or cleaning tasks (34 percent); medical robots have even seen growth of 91 percent.
Only humanoid robots, which have recently come into focus thanks to prominent investors, enormous investment sums, and emerging young companies with exciting growth plans, seem to be viewed with some skepticism by the IFR. Making predictions in this area is difficult. These humanoid robots still need to prove themselves in practice. (See commentary on page 28.)” [1]
1. China dominiert die Roboter-Welt. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; Frankfurt. 27 Sep 2025: 26. Von Uwe Marx, Frankfurt
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