Industrial robots in China: 354,000 installed in 2025, 59% of the world

FRIDAY, 25 SEPTEMBER 2026

The IFR World Robotics 2026 report counts 603,000 installations worldwide. In China, metal and machinery grow fastest, +44%. Italy loses 11%.

Industrial robots in China installed in 2025 numbered 354,000, 20% more than the year before and 59% of all those installed worldwide. That is the finding of the World Robotics 2026 report by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), published this week: globally, installations rose 11% to 603,000 units, and the operational robot stock passed 5 million for the first time.

The IFR report figures

The Chinese figure is more than nine times that of the second market. The United States, with over 38,000 installations and 12% growth, overtook Japan, which fell 19%. In Europe the picture is the opposite: Germany remains the largest market in the Union but drops 8%, and Italy, second in the EU, loses 11%.

• China: 354,000 robots installed in 2025, +20% on 2024, equal to 59% of global installations.
• World: 603,000 installations in 2025, +11%; operational stock above 5 million units, +9%.
• United States: over 38,000 installations, +12%; Japan 36,219, -19%.
• Italy: about 7,800 installations in 2025, -11%; Germany below 25,000, -8%.
• IFR forecast: 655,000 installations worldwide in 2026 (+9%) and 806,000 in 2029.

Where industrial robots in China are going

Chinese growth is not concentrated in electronics, the sector that traditionally absorbs the most automation. According to IFR data reported by official Chinese sources, electrical and electronics installed 96,400 robots (+16%, 27% of the national total), automotive 78,900 (+38%, a record) and metal and machinery 78,700 (+44%). The latter is the fastest-growing: machining, metalwork, metal components.

Who supplies the machines is changing too. Chinese manufacturers installed 195,000 robots, 15% more, and now hold 55% of the domestic market; installations by foreign brands still grew 27%. The IFR expects average growth of 5 to 10% a year in China through 2029, driven by an ageing population and labour shortages.

Europe slows, Italy loses ground

The Italian decline should be read for what it is: a measure of how many new robots were installed in one year, not of the overall level of factory automation, which depends on the stock already in place. It is nonetheless a sign of slowing investment, in line with the rest of Europe: Germany -8%, France -8%, Spain -15%. The IFR expects the strongest growth in the coming years to remain in Asia, with Europe moving more slowly.

What it means for importers

The data does not show that Chinese products automatically become more uniform or better: a robot precisely repeats what it was programmed to do, set-up errors included. It does signal that a growing share of output in metal, machinery and automotive runs on automated lines, and it is worth taking into account in dealings with suppliers.

Three useful questions to ask before an order. Which processing stages are automated and which remain manual, because that is where variability concentrates. How process parameters are checked after each production changeover, since a calibration error is replicated across the whole batch rather than a few pieces. And whether automation changes minimum order quantities or set-up times, which weigh differently on a robotised line than on a manual one.

Quality control does not become redundant, its focus shifts. On an automated line it makes more sense to check the first pieces and start-up parameters carefully, then sample the batch; on a manual line variability is spread out and sampling matters more throughout production.

A cost advantage to verify, not assume

Automation tends to lower labour cost per piece, but no figure in the report says how much of that saving reaches export price lists. The final price also depends on raw materials, domestic demand and the exchange rate. The cautious reading is that more automated suppliers have room to negotiate on medium-to-high volumes, and that it is worth asking, not taking it for granted.

With La Merce, an order to a Chinese supplier of metal components starts by checking which stages are robotised and inspecting the first pieces after every line start-up, because with 354,000 robots installed in a single year a calibration error repeats across the whole batch.

Let's talk about your productprojectconceptgoalbrandproductprojectconceptgoalbrandproductprojectconceptgoalbrandproduct