4,281,585 - the number of industrial robots in use in factories worldwide in 2023. This corresponds to an increase of 10% compared to the previous year, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) in its latest "World Robotics Report 2024". "The figure of 541,302 newly installed units in 2023 is the second-best annual result ever recorded. It is only two percent below the record of 552,946 units installed in 2022," says Marina Bill, President of the IFR, categorizing the figure.

Nevertheless, global sales of industrial robots fell last year. The figure of around 541,300 newly installed units represents a drop of 2.1% compared to the previous year's peak. For the current year 2024, the association expects global robot installations to level off at around 541,000 units. Growth is expected to accelerate from 2025 and continue in 2026 and 2027. The IFR does not see any indications that the long-term growth trend will end in the near future.

Asia the leading market

IFR World Robotics Report 2024: Installed industrial robots in 2024 (in 1000 units)

© IFR

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%. China is by far the largest market: a total of 276,288 industrial robots were installed here in 2023. This corresponds to a market share of 51% and represents the second-highest result ever achieved (2022: 290,144 units). In the domestic market, sales by Chinese manufacturers have risen significantly since 2022 and reached a record 47% in 2023; in the last ten years, they have 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 after China. Here, 46,106 units were newly installed. This corresponds to a decline of 9% compared to 2022. It should be added that 2022, with 50,435 newly installed units, was the second-best result after 2018 (55,240 units). According to the IFR, demand is expected to stagnate in the current year 2024 and only recover to mid and upper single-digit rates from 2025 onwards.

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.

India is one of the fastest growing emerging markets in Asia. The number of installed robots rose by 59% to 8,510 units in 2023. This is a new high. Demand from the automotive industry rose to 3,551 units - an increase of 139%. Both car manufacturers and suppliers contributed to this development.

Europe with record number of newly installed robot units

The number of newly installed robots in Europe rose to an all-time high in 2023: with 92,393 industrial robots, 9% more units were installed in 2023 than in 2022. 80% of industrial robots were sold in the European Union; this corresponds to 73,534 units and an increase of 2%. This growth is attributable to numerous projects that were completed in 2023, meaning that the order backlog was processed. Demand for robots also benefited from a nearshoring trend. Broken down by sector, growth was strongly driven by the automotive industry, which invested in traditionally strong manufacturing countries such as Spain (5,053 units, +31%), but also in smaller markets such as Slovakia (2,174 units, +48%) and Hungary (1,657 units, +31%).

In Germany, installations rose by 7% to 28,355 units. 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 declined to 10,412 units (-9%). The third-largest European market, France, recorded a drop of 13%, with 6,386 units installed.

A total of 3830 industrial robots were installed in the UK - a significant increase of 51% in 2023. The main driver was investment by the automotive industry, mainly in assembly.

Growth market America

Sales in America rose for the third year in a row: 55,389 units were installed in 2023. Compared to the record year of 2022, this is a slight decrease of 1%.

The largest market in the region is the United States: 68% of the robots installed in 2023 are in use here. Despite a decline of 5% to 37,587 newly installed units, 2023 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 3900 units (+1%).

In Canada, robot installations rose by 37% to 4311 units. Demand here is also 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 (70% market share). In 2023, installations in this sector fell by 5% to 4087 units. This follows the familiar cyclical demand pattern in this customer segment. Total installations reached 5832 units, which corresponds to a decline of 3%.