China is by far the world's largest robot market.

According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), China is by far the world's largest robot market and its success story in industrial robots is unique. Marina Bill, President of IFR, said: "China's rapid development in the field of industrial robot automation is amazing. Two years ago, the stock of operating robots exceeded 1.5 million units, making China the first and only country with such a large stock of industrial robots." In 2022 alone, 290,258 units were installed, accounting for 52% of the global market.

01 Demands of different industries

In order to meet the different needs of various industries, both domestic and foreign robot suppliers have established production plants in China and continuously increased their production capacity. Since 2010, large-scale investment in the automotive industry has stimulated demand. China has become the world's largest automobile market and the world's largest automobile production base (including electric vehicles), with strong growth potential. At the same time, China is also a major producer of electronic equipment, batteries, semiconductors and microchips. Since 2016, the electrical and electronics industry has replaced the automotive industry as the main customer and growth driver of China's industrial robots. Various other industries have also begun to expand their production capacity using advanced automation technologies.

02 Robots are the new engine of growth

Today, the domestic Chinese market remains the largest single market for Chinese robot manufacturers: "So far, the number of robots exported from China has been very limited," said Song Xiaogang, executive director and secretary general of the China Robot Industry Alliance (CRIA). "It has only been a few years since Chinese robots began to go abroad. According to our statistics, less than 5% of the total number of robots exported is still less than 5%." "Like any business looking for new markets, Chinese robot companies go where there is demand for their products," said Song Xiaogang. Typically, Chinese robot companies set up branches by working with local partners and hiring local employees. It takes time to build brand credibility by improving technical levels and providing better services to meet the needs of foreign markets. In some areas, such as vision systems or artificial intelligence applications, Chinese companies have advantages based on meeting the needs of China's manufacturing industry to accelerate automation. Low production costs or low costs are also one of the main advantages of Chinese robots.

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