At present, there are 42,000 industrial robots in operation in French factories, or 177 robots for every 10,000 employees. As for China, its progress is clear, with 187 robots per 10,000 employees, surpassing France for the first time.

2094-AC16-M03-S France’s “New factory” (L ‘Usine Nouvelle) magazine website reported that for a long time, China lagged far behind Europe in the field of industrial automation, but thanks to its low labor costs, China has turned itself into the “factory of the world.” That is now a thing of the past.

The results of the International Federation of Robotics’ annual survey show that in 2019, China surpassed France for the first time in terms of industrial robotics, with 187 robots per 10,000 employees. Of course, China is far from the top, with Singapore having 918 robots per 10,000 employees, and South Korea and Germany both having 346 (twice as many as France).

2094-AC16-M03-S France has now become the soft spot in the roboticization of European industry. With 42,000 industrial robots in operation in French factories, France lags far behind its European neighbours, with 74,000 in Italy, and Germany has a robot stock of 221,000, five times the number in France. Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and Spain are also significantly better at roboticizing their industries than France. France’s backwardness is not entirely to blame for the low degree of robotization in the automotive industry. In fact, the level of modernization of French smes also lags behind that of its neighbors.

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France is playing catch-up.

2094-AC16-M03-S Fortunately, French industrial firms are catching up. In 2019, nearly 6,700 new industrial robots were put into use, an increase of 15% in one year. On the contrary, the number of new robots installed by German industrial enterprises decreased from the previous year. Although there will be some uncertainty in the coming months, the government’s recovery plan announced in September is expected to incentivise industrial companies to go full speed ahead with robotization and modernize their production structures.

China may be an exception

2094-AC16-M03-S However, on a global scale, the robotization of industry may slow down. In 2019, the number of new industrial robots installed has fallen by 12% to 373,000, two-thirds of which are in Asia. “[The industrial robot industry] should have to wait until 2022 or even 2023 to return to pre-crisis demand levels,” said Milton Guerry, president of the International Federation of Robotics. The exception, however, may be China, which is recovering relatively early. In 2019, China’s industrial robot inventory increased by 21% to more than 140,000 units. It is obvious that the gap between China and France in the field of industrial robots will become wider and wider.