The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) has released figures on China’s industrial robot market showing that local manufacturers accounted for 55 percent of installations in 2025 — the second consecutive year in which domestic brands supplied more than half of all robots sold in the country.
Electrical & Electronics
96,400 Units
+16% Year-over-year
Automotive Plants
78,900 Robots
+38% Record Increase
Metal & Machinery
78,700 Units
+44% Growth
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China’s success in modernizing its industrial system owes much to the national robot strategy launched a decade ago. The latest plan is part of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030), which focuses its AI research on embodied applications, with robotics as a core engine of economic growth.
— Jane Heffner, president of the IFR
Market Volatility Outside Top Sectors
Growth has been uneven outside the top three sectors. Food and beverage installations jumped 86 percent in 2024, only to fall 37 percent in 2025. The textile, leather and apparel segment swung even harder: after growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 115 percent from 2019 to 2024, it collapsed 92 percent in 2025. Paper and paper products, by contrast, still added 15 percent following a 55 percent CAGR over the same period.
Domestic vs. Foreign Brand Performance (2025)
Domestic Brands Growth 15%
Foreign Brands Growth 27%
Chinese suppliers nonetheless kept the majority share of their home market, a position they have held since 2024.
2029 Market Outlook
The market is far from saturated. The IFR expects annual growth of 5 to 10 percent through 2029, partly because demographic shifts are shrinking China’s workforce and pushing factories toward automation. Guided by the 15th Five-Year Plan, the country’s robotics strategy now stresses technological self-reliance and the modernization of traditional industries, positioning the sector as an innovator in embodied intelligence and a developer of intelligent industrial robots.
Post time: Oct-07-2026
