Analysis of Market Size in the Industrial Robot Industry
1. The rapid growth in industrial robot sales from 2019 to 2022 was primarily driven by strong national policy support and the explosive growth in automation demand from downstream emerging industries such as NEVs (New Energy Vehicles), lithium batteries, and photovoltaics, which propelled the fast expansion of industrial robots.
2. During 2023-2024, the economy experienced a downturn. The prosperity of traditional manufacturing sectors, such as complete vehicle manufacturing and metal processing, remained sluggish. Meanwhile, emerging industries like lithium batteries saw a cliff-like drop in new demand due to overcapacity.
3. Looking ahead, as the economy gradually recovers, downstream consumer demand is expected to rebound. Coupled with the accelerating overseas expansion of industrial robots, which will drive continuous growth in overseas demand, these factors will jointly promote the steady growth of the industrial robot industry.
Market Size of the Industrial Robot Industry -- Analysis of Sub-Segment Products
6-Axis Robots
In 2025, the demand for 6-axis robots will be primarily influenced by the rising needs in the automotive manufacturing and metal processing industries.
SCARA Robots
In 2025, the recovery of the 3C electronics industry will drive up the demand for SCARA robots.
Collaborative Robots
Collaborative robots will achieve growth in 2025, mainly benefiting from the steadily improving penetration rate in downstream industries and the increase in overseas exports.
DELTA Robots
DELTA robots are mainly applied in industries such as food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, and daily chemicals, where downstream demand remains relatively stable.
Other Robots
This category mainly includes vertical coordinate robots, which feature high positioning accuracy and strong load-bearing capacity, though the overall market demand is relatively small.
Note: Relevant data and complete insights can be found in the full version of the 2026 Shipbuilding Industry Market White Paper.
Market Size of the Industrial Robot Industry -- Analysis of Downstream Application Industries
Automotive Manufacturing
Robots are deeply integrated with intelligent automotive manufacturing, transitioning from "machine replacement" to "human-machine collaboration," and penetrating upstream into the component segments of the industrial chain.
Electronics
Breaking through into the field of precision manufacturing, AI integration is driving improvements in complex assembly and quality inspection capabilities.
Metal Processing
Application scenarios continue to expand, with increasingly higher requirements for the precision and stability of processes such as welding and cutting.
Food and Beverage
Concentrated in packaging, palletizing, and other links, emphasizing high-speed stability and hygiene and safety standards.
Lithium Batteries
Demand is steadily rising, primarily driven by the equipment investment cycle brought about by the iteration of new technologies such as solid-state batteries.
Photovoltaics
Focusing on cost reduction and efficiency improvement, robot applications continue to deepen on the manufacturing end.
Home Appliances
Upgrading towards full-process intelligence, humanoid robots have entered pilot applications in factories.
Pharmaceuticals
Applications have grown significantly, concentrating in high-demand scenarios such as aseptic filling and drug inspection.
Logistics
Transitioning from automation to intelligence, humanoid robots have been implemented in warehouse sorting processes.
Chemical Industry
Special robots designed for high-risk scenarios are being deployed to replace manual operations in hazardous environments.
Note: Relevant data and complete insights can be found in the full version of the 2026 Shipbuilding Industry Market White Paper.
Market Size of the Industrial Robot Industry -- Analysis of Downstream Application Scenarios
Among all application scenarios, material handling and welding account for the highest proportion, totaling 70%, and will maintain steady growth in 2025:
Material Handling: The most widely applied scenario, upgrading towards intelligence and flexibility. The penetration rate of Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR) continues to rise, and humanoid robots are beginning to enter pilot programs in warehouse logistics.
Welding: Demand is growing steadily. Automated transformation continues to advance in industries such as automotive and components, steel structures, and shipbuilding, driving up the demand for high-precision and complex trajectory welding.
Assembly: Benefiting from the precision manufacturing demands in industries like 3C electronics and NEV components, the precision requirements for assembly robots are increasing. The application of collaborative robots is expanding, making human-machine collaboration a trend.
Inspection: The deep integration of AI vision technology and robots is driving significant improvements in automation levels for online inspection and quality sorting. Application fields are expanding from electronics to industries such as lithium batteries, photovoltaics, and pharmaceuticals.
Spraying: Applications are mature in high-end manufacturing fields such as automotive, furniture, and 3C electronics. Stricter environmental protection requirements are driving up the penetration rate of water-based paint spraying robots, while demand increases for special spraying scenarios such as explosion-proof and dust-proof environments.
Mechanical Processing: Collaborative operations between CNC machine tools and robots have become mainstream. The automation level of processes such as loading/unloading, deburring, and grinding/polishing is improving, with increasingly higher requirements for force control precision and stability.
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