Asia shows strong growth in robotics

The number of new units installed in 2023 exceeded the half-million mark for the third year in a row.

Broken down by region, 70% of all new robots were installed in Asia. Europe accounts for a market share of 17% and the Americas for 10%. The figure of 541,302 newly installed units in 2023 is the second-best annual result ever recorded. It is only 2% below the record of 552,946 units installed in 2022.

China is by far the largest market worldwide. A total of 276,288 industrial robots were installed in 2023. This corresponds to a market share of 51% of global demand and represents the second-highest result ever achieved (2022: 290,144 units). In the domestic market, sales by Chinese manufacturers have increased significantly since 2022, reaching a record 47% in 2023. In the last ten years, it has hovered around 28%. In 2023, the operating stock was just below the 1.8 million unit mark. This makes China the first and only country in the world to have such a large number of industrial robots. Demand for robots is likely to accelerate in the second half of 2024. This will contribute to a more stable market by the end of this year. In the longer term, there is still great potential for growth in the Chinese manufacturing industry, which could average 5 to 10% per year until 2027.

Japan remains the second largest market for industrial robots worldwide after China. Robot installations reached 46,106 units in 2023, a decrease of 9%. The result follows two strong years with a peak of 50,435 units in 2022 - the second best result after 2018 (55,240 units). Demand is expected to stagnate in 2024, but will recover to mid and upper single-digit rates in 2025 and subsequent years.

The market in the Republic of Korea is trending sideways: installations reached 31,444 units in 2023 - a decline of 1% compared to the previous year. In terms of annual installations, the country was the world's fourth-largest robot market after the USA, Japan and China.

Europe weakens

In America, demand rose above the 50,000 unit mark for the third year in a row: 55,389 units were installed in 2023. This is only 1% below the record level of 2022. The United States, the largest market in the region, accounted for 68% of the robots installed in 2023. The figure fell by 5% to 37,587 units. This is the third-best result since the record levels of 2022 and 2018. Demand from the automotive industry fell by 15% to 12,421 units. This corresponds to the average result of the last ten years. In the metal industry and mechanical engineering, installations rose by 8% to 4,171 units. In the US electrical/electronics industry, demand remained stable at 3,900 units (+ 1%). In Canada, robot installations rose by 37% to 4,311 units. Demand is largely dependent on the investment cycles of the automotive industry. The automotive industry's market share was 58% in 2023. Robot sales in Mexico are also primarily driven by the automotive industry, with a market share of 70%. In 2023, installations in this sector fell by 5% to 4,087 units. This follows the familiar cyclical demand pattern in this customer segment. Total installations reached 5,832 units, which corresponds to a decline of 3%.

In Germany, installations rose by 7% to 28,355 units in 2023. The country is the largest market in Europe and is the only European economy among the five largest markets worldwide. In Italy, the second-largest European market, installations fell by 9% to 10,412 units. The third-largest European market, France, recorded a drop of 13% and had 6,386 installed units.