As Gree’s five-axis machine tools operate at high speed in Tesla’s Berlin factory and Gree robots perform precise welding on BMW production lines, many have suddenly realized: the company that started with air conditioning has quietly “exploded” in the field of industrial robotics. The 2025 semi-annual report provides a solid answer: revenue from intelligent equipment business has exceeded 20 billion yuan, with the overseas market share soaring to 42%. Giants like Tesla and Mercedes-Benz are throwing orders, and the layout that was once questioned as “not focusing on the main business” has finally entered the harvest season.
The starting point of this explosion hides the “stubbornness” of Dong Mingzhu 12 years ago. In 2013, Gree’s air conditioning production capacity expansion encountered embarrassment: the industrial robots needed for high-end production lines were almost entirely monopolized by Japan’s Fanuc and Germany’s KUKA, not only were they expensive, but maintenance also depended on foreign companies. “If others can do it, why can’t Chinese companies?” Dong Mingzhu decisively invested heavily and plunged into the intelligent equipment track, which required significant investment and long cycles. At that time, no one expected that this gamble would take until 2025 to see its shining moment.
The “explosion code” of Gree Robotics lies in breakthroughs across three dimensions.
First is the “independent breakthrough” of core components. The “heart” servo motors and “joints” reducers of industrial robots have long been a weak point for domestic companies, heavily relying on imports. Gree has spent ten years honing its skills, achieving independent mass production of key components such as servo systems and motion controllers. In 2024, it won the Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award for its “high-performance servo motors for robots,” achieving precision and stability at an internationally leading level. Now, its frameless torque motors and hollow cup motors have received bulk orders from hundreds of robot companies, completely breaking free from the “choke point” constraints.
Second is the “full-field penetration” of scene implementation. From palletizing robots in home appliance factories to battery tray gluing equipment in new energy vehicles, Gree Robotics has completed the leap from “self-use” to “external sales.” In Tesla’s Shanghai factory, the Gree GR200 die-casting robot is responsible for processing chassis components, with efficiency improved by 30% compared to traditional equipment; at the Beijing welding exhibition, its teachless welding robot can start operation in just 2 minutes, making complex welding seam operations simpler than using a smartphone; even in shipbuilding steel structures and 3C electronics, Gree robots can be seen, forming a full product matrix from 1kg to 600kg load capacity.
Finally, there is the “high-end breakthrough” in overseas markets. In the past, domestic robots relied on low prices to go abroad, but Gree has opened the doors to Europe and the United States with technology. By 2025, its overseas revenue from intelligent equipment will account for 42%. The gantry machining center introduced to Tesla’s Berlin factory has a precision of ±5μm and processing efficiency three times that of traditional equipment, directly breaking the monopoly of German and Japanese machine tools. Even established companies like Trumpf in Germany cannot help but disassemble and study it, supported by Gree’s nearly 20,000 R&D team and 140,000 patent accumulations.
This explosion is by no means accidental; it also hides the inevitable logic of the upgrade of China’s manufacturing industry. With the advancement of “smart manufacturing,” the demand for industrial robots in industries such as automotive and lithium batteries has surged, and Gree’s advantage lies in “scene feedback technology”—its own air conditioning factory has become the best testing ground, repeatedly honing the stability of robots in high-temperature and high-humidity environments. This kind of “practical experience” is difficult for pure technology companies to replicate. As Dong Mingzhu said: “We are not making robots to show off technology, but to truly solve the pain points of manufacturing enterprises.”
However, challenges also exist beneath the halo. The high-end market is still occupied by KUKA and Fanuc, which have obvious technical advantages in extreme cold and other special environments; domestic competitors like Estun are also closely following, with price wars and technology wars coexisting. To maintain the “explosion results,” Gree needs to continue breaking through in cutting-edge fields such as humanoid robots. Its plan to trial produce a 15-degree-of-freedom dexterous hand in the third quarter is a key layout for the next round of competition.
From being questioned about “cross-border failure” to becoming a “benchmark for intelligent manufacturing,” Gree has proven over 12 years that the upgrade of manufacturing is never a speculative “shortcut” but an accumulation of “hard work.” Those years of misunderstood R&D investment and those nights of repeated debugging in the workshop have ultimately transformed into the confidence to confront international giants. This is not only Gree’s victory but also a microcosm of China’s manufacturing industry transitioning from “assembly and processing” to “core manufacturing.”
The explosion of Gree Robotics is just the beginning. Faced with KUKA’s technical barriers and Estun’s local advantages, can it maintain its growth momentum? How many more “12 years” do Chinese manufacturing companies need to fully break through? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, as every breakthrough in domestic technology is closely related to our lives.