The global stock of industrial robots hit a record 5 million units in 2025, and China once again led the way.
The country installed 354,000 robots last year — up 20% and 59% of the world total — according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), which released its World Robotics 2026 report in September. Domestic brands took a 55% share of the home market, and the United States overtook Japan to become the world’s second-largest market. IFR forecasts global installations will rise 9% to 655,000 units in 2026 and reach 806,000 by 2029.
China’s output is still accelerating.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology says industrial robot production rose 29.1% year on year in the first three quarters, with September output of 97,000 units, up 18.9%.
Humanoid robots have started working regular factory shifts.
At Zhejiang Zhaofeng Machinery, 15 humanoids now feed small parts on a crowded production line — gripping components with an inner diameter of 80–120 mm through a full pick-up, transfer and feeding cycle, China Economic Net reported in October. In April, four humanoids began running alongside conventional equipment at a plant in Nanchang, Jiangxi — what CCTV called the world’s first embodied-AI parallel line. Global humanoid shipments reached about 19,100 units in the first half of 2026, triple a year earlier, with Chinese makers accounting for more than 97%, according to Smart Analytics Global. Full-year shipments could hit about 60,000, and 500,000 by 2030.
Commercialization is accelerating.
On October 29, AGIBOT (Zhiyuan) reported first-half shipments of 9,700 robots — over 43% of the global market — and revenue of nearly RMB 2 billion, with its 20,000th robot completed in September. The company also introduced Worken, a metric for “effective intelligent working hours,” and previewed its GO-3 foundation model, which tops three benchmark leaderboards and will be open-sourced by end-2026.
Policy is backing the trend.
In June, MIIT and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission launched a 2026 action plan for embodied-AI real-scenario training in manufacturing and other key sectors.
The takeaway: from industrial robots to humanoids, China’s robotics industry has entered the embodied-AI era — and the new workers are already on the line.
Post time: Oct-30-2026
