On September 25, the International Federation of Robotics released the “2025 World Robotics Report,” indicating that in 2024, China’s active industrial robot stock will exceed 2 million units, ranking first globally. The report states that the global active industrial robot stock will reach 4.664 million units in 2024, a 9% increase from the previous year, with China’s active industrial robot stock rising to a record 2.027 million units. “China’s strategy to modernize its manufacturing base has reached a new milestone in the automation process,” said Takayuki Ito, President of the International Federation of Robotics. “China’s robot stock has doubled in three years, surpassing 1 million units in 2021 and reaching 2 million units in 2024.”
China’s active industrial robot stock exceeding 2 million units not only directly drives the development of the robot manufacturing industry but also exerts a strong influence on its upstream and downstream industry chains. From upstream core components to downstream diversified application fields, and the formation of regional industrial clusters, the proliferation of industrial robots is reshaping the entire industrial ecosystem, creating new development opportunities and growth spaces.
1 Breakthroughs in Upstream Core Component Industry
The core components of industrial robots, including reducers, controllers, and servo motors, are key determinants of robot performance and cost. For a long time, the market for these core components has been dominated by foreign companies, becoming a bottleneck in the development of China’s robot industry. With the explosive growth of the domestic robot market, the demand for core components has surged, providing strong market impetus for local component companies to achieve technological breakthroughs and industrialization.
1.1 Promoting the Localization of Core Components such as Reducers, Controllers, and Servo Motors
The enormous market demand has attracted a large influx of capital and talent into the core component field. With strong support from national policies, local companies have achieved a series of important breakthroughs in reducers, controllers, and servo motors through independent research and development and technology introduction. For example, in the field of harmonic reducers, local companies have been able to produce products with performance close to international advanced levels and have begun to supply them in bulk to domestic robot manufacturers. In terms of controllers and servo systems, local companies have also developed products with independent intellectual property rights and have captured a certain share of the mid-to-low-end market. Although there is still a gap between domestic brands and international top levels in terms of high precision and high reliability,the acceleration of the localization process not only reduces the cost of domestic robots but also enhances the autonomous controllability of China’s robot industry..
1.2 Attracting Foreign Investment to Establish Factories in China and Enhance Technological Levels
The vast robot market in China has also attracted internationally renowned core component companies to invest and establish factories in China. For example, Japan’s Nabtesco and Harmonic Drive, and Germany’s Siemens and Bosch Rexroth have all established production bases or R&D centers in China. The entry of these foreign companies not only provides high-quality core components for the Chinese market but also brings advanced technology and management experience. Through cooperation and competition with foreign companies, local enterprises can learn and master advanced technologies more quickly, enhancing their own R&D and manufacturing levels. This “catfish effect” has significantly promoted the overall progress of China’s core component industry.
1.3 Forming an Industrial Ecosystem of Collaborative Development among Large, Medium, and Small Enterprises
In the core component field, an industrial ecosystem has initially formed where leading enterprises guide and small and medium-sized enterprises collaborate. Some small and medium-sized enterprises with technological advantages in specific fields focus on the R&D and production of certain core components, occupying important positions in niche markets through a “specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative” development path. Meanwhile, large robot manufacturing companies collaborate with these small and medium-sized enterprises to build a complete industrial chain. This model of collaborative development among large, medium, and small enterprises not only improves the innovation efficiency of the entire industry but also enhances the resilience and risk resistance of the industrial chain.
2 Expansion and Deepening of Downstream Application Fields
The application fields of industrial robots are expanding from traditional industries such as automotive and electronics to broader fields such as new energy, healthcare, logistics, and food. This deepening and expansion of applications not only brings new growth spaces for the robot industry but also promotes the intelligent transformation of production processes and workflows across various industries, giving rise to new business models and service formats.
2.1 Expanding from Traditional Fields such as Automotive and Electronics to Emerging Fields such as New Energy, Healthcare, and Logistics
The automotive and electronics industries are the earliest and most mature fields for industrial robot applications. In these industries, robots are mainly used for welding, painting, assembly, and handling processes. With technological advancements and cost reductions, the application of robots has begun to penetrate more emerging fields. In the new energy sector, industrial robots play important roles in lithium battery production and photovoltaic component manufacturing. In the healthcare sector, robots are used for surgical assistance, rehabilitation training, and drug sorting. In the logistics sector, AGVs and sorting robots are widely used in warehousing and distribution centers. The applications in these emerging fields pose new requirements for the performance, functionality, and intelligence levels of robots, driving continuous innovation in robot technology.
2.2 Promoting Intelligent Transformation of Production Processes and Workflows Across Industries
The application of industrial robots is driving profound changes in the production processes and workflows of various industries. By introducing robots, companies can achieve automation, flexibility, and intelligence in production processes, thereby enhancing production efficiency, product quality, and operational flexibility. For example, in the traditional textile industry, the introduction of robots can automate yarn splicing, fabric inspection, and cutting, significantly improving production efficiency and product quality. In the food processing industry, robots can be used for sorting, packaging, and palletizing, not only improving production efficiency but also ensuring food hygiene and safety. This cross-industry intelligent transformation is driving the transformation and upgrading of the entire manufacturing industry.
2.3 Giving Rise to New Business Models and Service Formats
The proliferation of industrial robots has also given rise to a series of new business models and service formats. For example, robot leasing, robot system integration, robot maintenance, and robot operation training. These emerging service formats provide new growth points for the extension and improvement of the robot industry chain. At the same time, the application of robots has also promoted the development of new manufacturing models such as “shared manufacturing” and “cloud manufacturing.” Companies can use cloud platforms to utilize robotic and other manufacturing resources on demand, achieving light asset operations and reducing production costs. These new business models and service formats are reshaping the value chain and ecosystem of the manufacturing industry.
3 Formation and Development of Regional Industrial Clusters
In China, the development of the industrial robot industry shows significant regional clustering characteristics. Centered around the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regions, several internationally competitive robot industry clusters have formed. These industrial clusters leverage agglomeration effects to attract a large number of talents, capital, and technology, constructing a complete industrial chain and driving the overall upgrade of regional manufacturing.
3.1 Forming Robot Industry Clusters Centered on the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta
The Yangtze River Delta is one of the most developed regions for the robot industry in China, with several major robot industry hubs such as Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Nanjing. This area not only gathers a large number of robot manufacturing and core component companies but also hosts numerous high-level research institutions and universities, providing strong talent and technical support for industrial development.The Pearl River Delta, centered around Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Dongguan, has rapidly developed its robot industry, relying on its strong electronic information industry and manufacturing base. Particularly in the 3C electronics, home appliances, and new energy sectors, the application of robots is widespread. The formation of these industrial clusters provides a favorable industrial ecosystem for the rapid development of the robot industry.
3.2 Local Governments Implement Policies to Support the Creation of a Complete Industrial Chain
To promote the development of the robot industry, local governments have introduced a series of supportive policies. For example, establishing industrial development funds, providing tax incentives and financial subsidies to robot companies, and building robot industrial parks and public technology service platforms. The implementation of these policies creates a favorable external environment for the development of the robot industry. With government guidance and support, various industrial clusters are striving to build a complete industrial chain from core components, robot bodies to system integration and applications, enhancing the overall competitiveness of the industry.
3.3 Leveraging the Demonstration Effect of “Lighthouse Factories” to Drive Overall Upgrading of Regional Manufacturing
Within various industrial clusters, a number of “lighthouse factories” have emerged. These “lighthouse factories” not only serve as models for the transformation and upgrading of enterprises themselves but also exert a strong demonstration and driving effect on other enterprises in the region. By organizing visits, learning, and experience-sharing activities, “lighthouse factories” radiate their advanced concepts, technologies, and management models to surrounding enterprises, thereby enhancing the intelligent level of the entire regional manufacturing industry. For example, the Wuxi municipal government actively promotes the construction of “lighthouse factories,” hoping to illuminate the path of “smart manufacturing” and promote the high-quality development of Wuxi’s manufacturing industry. This development model of point-to-area is becoming an important path to drive the transformation and upgrading of regional manufacturing.
Overall, industrial robots are expected to reach an annual installation of 295,000 units, with stock exceeding 2 million units, igniting collaborative upgrades in upstream and downstream: the localization rate of upstream reducers, servos, and controllers exceeds 50%, with Nabtesco and Siemens establishing factories in China, forming an ecosystem of leading and specialized enterprises, reducing costs by 30%, and enhancing supply chain security; downstream applications are expanding from automotive and 3C to lithium batteries, photovoltaics, healthcare, and food, with new services such as flexible production lines, robot leasing, and cloud manufacturing emerging, tapping into a trillion-level aftermarket. The three major clusters of the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei have gathered over a thousand enterprises in robot bodies, components, and system integration, with 74 “lighthouse factories” demonstrating replication, driving an average productivity increase of 50% in the region, forming a “one-hour supply circle,” and reshaping the value chain of China’s intelligent manufacturing.