Industrial robotic adoption has continued to extend, in response to the IFR.
The trendy robotics market is split into a number of industrial clusters: service and shopper. Each market segments have seen a gradual enhance in industrial robotics gross sales, in response to the Worldwide Federation of Robotics, or IFR.
In 2024, 229,000 robotic programs for industrial use have been bought, with 70% of worldwide gross sales coming from simply 5 international locations: Japan, China, the U.S., Germany, and the Republic of Korea, according to the IFR. These international locations have a variety of authorities packages aimed toward supporting and creating robotics trade methods, though the U.S. depends extra on non-public capital than federal funding.
Let’s talk about the important thing financial priorities for the implementation of robotic applied sciences and the way this could rework the economic system. Greater than 343 corporations worldwide manufacture industrial robots, and over 347 corporations combine robotic programs into manufacturing processes. Additionally, greater than 860 corporations produce service robots for skilled use, and 204 corporations produce service robots for private use.
A classification of robotic sorts to comply with
There are 4 distinct thematic clusters:
- Fundamental robotics applied sciences
- Medical robotics
- Key robotics applied sciences
- Promising areas of progressive improvement
These final ones embrace power harvesting from the exterior atmosphere, self-repairing robots, multimodal interfaces, gesture evaluation and synthesis, and swarm intelligence in versatile manufacturing modules.
Service robots are divided by software into skilled and private. Gross sales of service robots for skilled use accounted for 11.5% of the overall, reaching 24,207 robotic items final yr. Army and special-purpose robots accounted for 45% of this complete (11,000 items). Final yr, 4.7 million service robots for private use have been bought. This eloquently demonstrates a complete income enhance of 28%. Gross sales volumes elevated to $2.2 billion.
The IFR predicted important progress for all market segments of the robotics market. It stated it expects industrial robotic gross sales to succeed in 400,000 items, with service robots for skilled use reaching 152,375 items and $19.6 billion. Service robots for private use are estimated to succeed in 35 million items and $12.2 billion.
Myria Analysis projected that the marketplace for robotics, in addition to clever working programs with a complete {hardware} and software program system, may attain over $380 billion by 2030. It estimated that the overall marketplace for robotics and clever working programs at $63 billion.
As the usage of robots of all kinds turns into extra widespread within the coming decade, corporations might create an govt place to oversee them, or they might develop into a part of industrial and business infrastructure. As well as, a combined workforce may emerge, with robots, AI, and other people intently collaborating.
Submit your session concept for the 2026 RoboBusinessRobotic trade faces hurdles to progress
After the COVID-19 pandemic, industrial robotic gross sales declined with the slowed progress in e-commerce, the pivot of automakers from electrification, and world commerce challenges. The principle obstacles to the event of robotics embrace:
- Weak academic infrastructure
- Lack of certified robotics specialists
- Outdated coaching packages;
- Lack of proprietary technological options
- Lack of expertise of the worldwide robotics market
- Lack of expertise of the demand for robotics merchandise
Vital priorities to handle embrace the small dimension of the home enterprise capital market, difficulties in exporting/importing technological merchandise and their parts, the dearth of a easy and clear analysis funding mechanism, and bureaucratic obstacles. The decline in service robotic gross sales was partly because of the enhance within the variety of corporations offering gross sales information.
International suppliers of commercial robots have been in a position to enhance gross sales volumes to 41,100 items, together with robots produced by worldwide producers in China. China is the most important marketplace for industrial robots.
Practically 29,300 industrial robots have been bought in Japan, indicating that gross sales peaked. Japan has become one of many largest markets by annual gross sales. On the identical time, robotic gross sales in Japan have been declining since 2005, when gross sales peaked at 44,000 items.
Searching for long-term industrial growth
Regardless of its challenges, the worldwide adoption of automation will proceed to develop, agreed industrial associations and analysts. As an illustration, complete shipments of commercial robots increased by a mean of roughly 50% per yr.
The principle drivers of progress in world industrial robotics gross sales have been the automotive and electronics industries. The automotive trade’s share accounted for roughly 43% of complete robotic gross sales. Funding in trendy industrial capability in rising markets, in addition to manufacturing modernization in automobile-producing international locations, elevated by 34% to 48,400 items.
Gross sales in all industrial sectors, excluding automotive and robotics, elevated by 21% in 2025. Between 2010 and 2025, the typical progress price was 17%. Automotive gross sales grew by 27% throughout this era, whereas {the electrical}/electronics trade grew by 11%.
Along with the core industries for robotics, suppliers have report a big enhance within the variety of clients lately. Nevertheless, the variety of robots these clients order continues to be usually very small, aside from autonomous cellular robotic (AMR) fleets in warehouses.
Final yr, the IFR and the Affiliation for Advancing Affiliation (A3) famous that the army, automotive, and electronics industries are among the most promising sectors for industrial robotics.
This means that corporations are shifting their focus to protection trade slightly than the civilian sector. As well as, respondents cited healthcare, autonomous automobiles, and the usage of robots for safety or security duties as probably the most promising areas for service robotics.
Industrial robotic gross sales are solely a part of the image
Do not forget that these estimates don’t embrace software program, peripherals, and engineering programs. Nevertheless, if these prices are included within the calculations, the precise market dimension would triple.
Subsequently, primarily based on this estimate, the worldwide industrial robotics market is valued at $32 billion in 2025. Many international locations exhibit elevated potential for industrial robotic adoption. To account for variations within the scale of producing industries, the IFR makes use of robotic density metrics.
This density is expressed because the variety of multifunctional robots per 10,000 employees employed within the automotive, manufacturing, or complicated automated industries. Estimating the variety of industrial robots in operation in varied industries permits one to evaluate the excessive stage of automation improvement.
The density of robots in service industries equivalent to healthcare and hospitality stays low. However, international locations with developed electronics industries have larger technical indicators. Most Western international locations shouldn’t have their very own electronics manufacturing services, prompting requires reshoring.
The rising demand for electronics round AI has helped Taiwan’s trade enhance its robotic density lately. This locations Taiwan fifth on the IFR’s record, with a price of 138 robots per 10,000 employees.
With decrease robotic densities, rising markets equivalent to India present important potential for progress in robotic adoption, as international locations grapple with the reallocation of manufacturing. Vital investments in robotics may help to mitigate present financial challenges by offering effectivity and adaptability.
In regards to the creator
Elena Krosheva is a contract journalist, advertising analyst, and search engine optimisation specialist. She graduated with honors from the College of Journalism on the Institute of Trendy Data in Minsk, Belarus, in 2007.
Krosheva covers matters equivalent to digitalization, IT, the fashionable economic system, and transhumanism. She loves computer systems and cyberpunk, having graduated from a technical faculty earlier than graduating from the College of Journalism.
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