In 2022, China installed 290,000 new industrial robots, accounting for more than half of the world’s new installations. Much of this goes into vehicle production, especially electric vehicle manufacturing.

According to the German “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” website reported on September 26, China installed more industrial robots last year than the rest of the world combined.

Technological advances and an aging population have led to a shortage of skilled workers, a trend that is driving factory automation. China is a worthy leader in this regard: in 2022, 290,000 new industrial robots were installed in China, accounting for more than half of all new installations worldwide. Much of this goes into vehicle production, especially electric vehicle manufacturing. Companies such as BYD are scaling up production even faster than Tesla, thus also boosting domestic robot production in China.

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▲ September 13, in Shandong Zouping Weiqiao lightweight base Hongao all-aluminum body integrated production workshop, industrial robots work on the assembly line. (Xinhua News Agency)

According to the International Federation of Robotics, Asia accounted for 73 percent of new robot installations in 2022, with Japan reaching more than 50,000 new robot installations, surpassing 2019 levels. Japan is the second largest industrial robot market after China, with robot production accounting for 46% of the global market.

In 2022, Europe will account for 15% of the world’s new robot installations. In Europe, Germany continues to hold the lead, despite a slight decrease in the number of new robot installations last year, with significant increases in new installations in Italy and France.