IFR report: China accounted for 59% of global industrial robot installations in 2025

Susan Bieller, Secretary General of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), said on September 24 that China is becoming an important force in robotics innovation and industrial development. She attributed the rapid growth of China's robotics sector to its large manufacturing base, expanding application demand, growing independent innovation capability and fast adoption of artificial intelligence technologies.

The IFR released the World Robotics 2026 report in Frankfurt, Germany, on the same day. It showed China remained the world's largest industrial robot market in 2025, with installations reaching 354,000 units, or about 59 percent of the global total, a record high.

Bieller said Chinese companies are deepening their understanding of different industry needs and application scenarios, helping turn technological innovation into products and solutions suited to production requirements. With advancing robot technology, falling costs and growing automation demand, industries with relatively limited automation are becoming new areas for robot adoption, she added.

She also highlighted the integration of artificial intelligence with the physical economy, saying robots are becoming an important carrier for AI technologies to enter real production environments, and physical AI is expected to be a key direction for the robotics industry. During a visit to an electric vehicle maker's plant in Shenzhen in April 2026, she observed both widespread use of industrial robots and ongoing development of humanoid robots. She expected China's robotics industry to shift from scale expansion toward innovation, scenario expansion and solution development, contributing new practices to the global robotics sector.