FRANKFURT, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--China has rapidly become a global leader in automation. From 2018 to 2020, a sales increase between 15 and 20 percent on average per year is possible for industrial robots. Annual sales volume has currently reached the highest level ever recorded for a single country: Within a year, sales in China surged by 27 percent to 87,000 units (2016). At the same time, Chinese robot manufacturers expand the market share in their home country. These are results published by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) ahead of the World Robotics Report 2017 to be released on September 27th.
“China is by far the biggest robot market in the world regarding annual sales and regarding the operational stock,” said Joe Gemma, President of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).
Electrical and electronics industry are the main drivers
The main drivers of the latest growth in China are the electrical and electronics industry. Sales increased by 75 percent to almost 30,000 units (2016). About one third of the robots were produced by Chinese robot suppliers, who more than doubled sales by almost 120 percent. All international robot suppliers also increased sales considerably to the electrical and electronics industry (+59 percent). This remarkable demand will further grow in the future.
Car industry lost its pole position
The automotive industry lost its pole position to the electrical and electronics industry, but is still a powerful driver for industrial robot sales. China has become both the world's largest car market and the world’s largest production site for cars – including electric cars - with much growth potential. Sales to China made up 25 percent of the global supply of industrial robots to the automotive industry in 2016. Between 2011 and 2016, a total of 108,000 units were installed, representing an average increase of 18 percent per year. The market share of Chinese robot suppliers in the automotive industry is still on a rather low level but has increased from 10 to 13 percent.
Full lengths press release at: https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/news/robots-china-breaks-historic-records-in-automation
LIVE STREAM – Save-the-date - IFR press conference “World Robotics Report 2017”
Watch the live streaming of the IFR press conference on the 27th September 2017 at 13:00 CET.
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