AUTOMATION AND ROBOTICS
2025. The sessions serve as China’ s top legislative body, where decisions about the country’ s laws, policies and governance are made. The“ 14th Five-Year Plan for Robot Industry Development” is included in the“ 14th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the People’ s Republic of China” and the 2035 Vision Outline.
An eye on Japan
China invests in robotics
“ China’ s National Development and Reform Commission has announced the set up a state-backed venture capital fund focused on robotics, AI and cutting-edge innovation. The long-term fund is expected to attract nearly one trillion yuan( US $ 138 billion) in capital from local governments and the private sector over 20 years. This initiative aims to continue China’ s technology-driven success story in manufacturing. In ten years, the country’ s global share of industrial robot installations has risen from around one-fifth to more than half of the world’ s total demand,” explained the IFR( International Federation of Robotics).
“ China has succeeded in upgrading its manufacturing industry at an unprecedented pace,” added Takayuki Ito, President of the IFR.“ Based on its national robotics strategy released in December 2021, the country has set an example of how to systematically strengthen competitiveness.”
Chinese robot manufacturers have been able to significantly expand their domestic market share. According to the IFR, local suppliers’ annual industrial robot installations in China increased from 30 % in 2020 to 47 % in 2023.
These robot companies are benefiting from a growing Chinese consumer market with increasing demand for all kinds of consumer goods.
“ Various industries are expanding their automation capacity. For example, in 2023 nearly two-thirds of industrial robots in the electronics industry were installed in China alone. Chinese manufacturers supply 54 % of the industrial robots for this huge domestic market, and thus about 33 % of the global demand in the electronics industry. Chinese robot suppliers for the metal and machinery industry even reached a domestic market share of 85 %,” continued the IFR.
As an important next step, China aims to integrate robotics with other emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, improved core components and new application scenarios of smart manufacturing. This is illustrated by China’ s recent initiative to position humanoid robots as a frontier technology and the newly approved statebacked venture capital fund.
China’ s 14th National People’ s Congress( NPC) held its third session from 5-11 March
Takayuki Ito, President, International Federation of Robotics( IFR).
According to preliminary results published by the International Federation of Robotics, the Japanese automotive industry installed a total of about 13,000 industrial robots in 2024. This is an 11 % increase compared to the previous year, and the highest level recorded since 2020.
“ Japan is the world’ s predominant robot manufacturing country representing 38 % of global robot production,” highlighted Takayuki Ito, IFR President.“ In terms of factory automation, Japan’ s automotive industry ranked fourth worldwide with a robot density of 1,531 robots per 10,000 employees in 2023. This is ahead of the United States and Germany and only behind Slovenia, Korea and Switzerland.”
The Japanese automotive industry is currently undergoing a restructuring process to adapt to alternative powertrains.
“ Most car manufacturers intend to expand their range of battery and fuel cell electric vehicles. In addition, Japanese manufacturers are developing hydrogen-fuelled combustion engines. This diversified portfolio will require the appropriate production technology. Car manufacturers represent approximately 25 % of all robot installations on an annual basis in Japan. The electrical and electronics industry is the only sector that installs more robots. Their installations reached about 14,000 industrial robots in 2024, which reflects a 5 % decrease,” confirmed the IFR.
Europe in focus
Investment in automating the car industry in Europe remains high. According to preliminary results presented by the International Federation of Robotics( IFR), the total number of industrial robots installed reached 23,000 in 2024, which is the second-best result in five years.
“ The European automotive sector is the region’ s strongest customer industry for robotics,” outlined Takayuki Ito, IFR President.“ Car makers are accounting for around onethird of annual manufacturing installations in Europe. In terms of automation activity, the combined number of 23,000 European robot
24 | ismr. net | ISMR September 2025