With its characteristics of versatility, intelligence, high production efficiency and safety, as well as easy management and significant economic benefits, industrial robots have become irreplaceable equipment and links in advanced manufacturing. At the same time, it is also an important symbol to measure the level of manufacturing and science and technology of a country. In December 2023, Zhitong China released the latest annual research report on the industrial robot industry, analyzing and interpreting the development prospects of the industry and the market competition pattern.

China’s industrial robot development has ushered in policy support and market opportunities

According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), China has become the largest market for industrial robots, with a market size of $8.7 billion in 2022, accounting for 45% of the global market. At the same time, the sales of industrial robots in China also show a rapid growth trend, about 300,000 units in 2022, a compound growth rate of 26%, much higher than the global market of 12%. Industrial robots are widely used in consumer electronics, automobiles, metal products and other fields, and with the rise of the new energy industry, it has gradually expanded to lithium, photovoltaic and other industries.

In order to promote the development of industrial robots, the state frequently introduced industrial policies and gave strong support. For example, in January 2023, 17 departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the “Robot +” application Action Implementation Plan, which sets the goal of doubling the density of robots in China’s manufacturing industry by 2025 compared with 2020. In addition, the “Made in China 2025” proposed for China’s manufacturing industry in the next 10 years to design the top-level planning and roadmap, aimed at promoting China to basically achieve industrialization by 2025, into the ranks of manufacturing power.

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Definition and classification of industrial robots

Industrial robot refers to a multi-joint manipulator or a multi-degree of freedom machine device for the industrial field, which can automatically perform work and achieve various functions by relying on its own power and control ability. According to the structure and function, industrial robots can be divided into vertical multi-joint robots, horizontal multi-joint robots (SCARA), parallel robots (DELTA) and collaborative robots.

According to IFR data, vertical multi-joint robots are widely used in automotive, 3C electronics and other industries due to high load, covering assembly, welding, loading and unloading and other links, and their demand is stable, which is the highest proportion of industrial robots in sales. Different from traditional industrial robots, collaborative robots break the traditional limitations in the industrial scene, there is no need to set the isolation barrier between the robot and the worker, and the two sides can carry out close interaction in the common space to achieve collaborative work. At present, China’s collaborative robots are in the rapid introduction stage, which can meet the application needs of multiple scenarios in industry and service, and have a broad market space.

The global industrial robot market is growing steadily, with China dominating the market

The global industrial robot market is growing steadily, and the global industrial robot market is expected to reach 21 billion US dollars in 2023, with an expected year-on-year growth rate of 8%.

China is currently the world’s largest industrial robot market, the size of China’s industrial robot market is expected to reach $9.9 billion in 2023, and the proportion of global industrial robot sales is expected to reach 47%. From 2019 to 2023, the market size of China’s industrial robots has maintained an annual growth rate of more than 10%, and the market size accounts for an increasing trend in the proportion of global scale.