When Tesla’s Optimus takes its first step and Boston Dynamics’ Atlas performs a backflip, what you see is algorithmic prowess, but what I see is the motors “carrying the entire industry forward.” Motors account for over 25% of the cost of humanoid robots, with each robot requiring 40 joint motors, while the global motor market is expanding at an annual rate of 58%. Algorithms can iterate, and software can upgrade, but the motors that make robots “move” are an unavoidable physical cornerstone. In other words, no matter which robot company claims dominance in the future, they will have to obediently pay “tuition” to motor companies.
The motor is to a robot what the heart is to the human body. It is not only the source of power but also directly determines the robot’s motion accuracy, response speed, and load capacity. Servo motors control joints with millisecond-level response, frameless torque motors drive the delicate operations of dexterous hands, and hollow cup motors support the “lightweight revolution” of micro-robots. For example, Tesla’s Optimus joint module has reduced its size by 30% and cost by 20% through the integrated design of the motor and reducer; while Changzhou Dingzhi Technology’s 8mm hollow cup motor enables humanoid robots to perform fine actions like “fist clenching” and “scissor hands,” with a response speed that even surpasses human muscles.
Why can’t there be a single winner in the motor race? Because the application scenarios for robots are too fragmented. Industrial robots require precision, service robots need to be lightweight, and medical robots demand reliability, which gives rise to a long-tail demand for motors. For instance, collaborative robots favor frameless motors because they can reduce weight by 30%; while industrial robots rely on servo motors, achieving control precision of 0.01 degrees. This customization attribute forces motor companies to deeply cultivate niche markets—Mingzhi Electric relies on hollow cup motors to secure orders from UBTECH, while Haozhi Electromechanical’s frameless torque motors approach Tesla’s torque density, and Zhaowei Electromechanical’s micro gearboxes have become the only company globally capable of nano-level processing.
Domestic motors are shedding their “low-end label.” In 2024, Huichuan Technology’s EtherCAT bus motor will compress response delay from 2 milliseconds to 0.3 milliseconds, successfully entering the Xiaomi CyberOne supply chain; Lude Harmonic’s “motor + reducer + encoder” integrated module reduces costs by 42% compared to separate solutions; and Sanhua Intelligent Control’s “oil cooling + magnetic levitation” composite motor is only one-third the size of traditional motors. More critically, thanks to the advantages of the rare earth industry chain (such as neodymium iron boron magnetic materials), domestic motors are 25% cheaper than overseas ones, yet their performance is on par with international giants—Beifeng Technology’s slotless brushless DC motor surpasses European and American products in power density and efficiency, even solving the pain point of “last centimeter operational precision” for dexterous hands.
The technological barriers of motors are reshaping the industry landscape. Upstream rare earth materials account for 30%-40% of motor costs, and fluctuations in neodymium iron boron prices directly impact profits; midstream components like encoders and precision bearings still rely on imports, with optical encoder disc engraving technology long monopolized by Japan. However, this also forces domestic companies to accelerate breakthroughs: Suzhou Lude Harmonic’s frameless motor torque density has increased to 38N·m/kg, and Mingzhi Electric has achieved torque free combination through segmented design, with a technology valuation exceeding 5 billion yuan. Even the materials sector is innovating—Wolong Electric Drive is laying out SiC electric control, and Xingdesheng is applying magnesium alloy die-casting technology to make motors lighter, cooler, and more efficient.
Investing in motors is essentially investing in “certainty.” As humanoid robots transition from the laboratory to mass production, the demand for motors will shift from “sample procurement” to “bulk orders.” Dongzheng Motor is establishing a production line with an annual output of 2 million execution components, Jiangsu Leili is sending samples to multiple robot manufacturers for hollow cup motors, and Changzhou Economic Development Zone has even formed a “two-kilometer motor industry ecosystem,” with micro motors to servo systems operating in clusters. This means that motor companies are no longer just suppliers but are becoming the “common engine” for the explosion of the robot industry.