Takayuki Ito preside la Federación Internacional de Robótica (IFR) desde octubre de 2024. Acumula más de 40 años trabajando en la industria robótica, vinculado a la multinacional japonesa FANUC Corporation, de la que actualmente es asesor técnico jefe de su división FANUC Robot Research & Development.
Global robotics and automation certainly are entering a new era: the industry’s economic weight is growing, venture capital is pouring in, and national governments are crafting national robotics strategies to secure a competitive edge. The robotics industry is a cornerstone of global economic growth.
Companies across sectors are scaling up adoption, recognizing that robotics delivers not just efficiency, but operational stability, adaptability and resilience. Whether it’s smoothing out workforce shortages, enabling rapid production shifts, or unlocking new service models, robotics has moved from being a cost-saving tool to a driver of competitiveness in a demanding global marketplace.
The technology is no longer reserved for large manufacturers—small and medium-sized enterprises are also embracing robotics to stay viable in tightening labor markets and increasingly volatile supply chains. For many, automation is no longer a strategic choice; it is a prerequisite for long-term survival.
Global industrial robotics market trending sideways in 2024
The new World Robotics 2025 statistics on industrial robots showed 542,100 robots installed in 2024 – more than double the number 10 years ago. Annual installations topped 500,000 units for the fourth straight year. Asia accounted for 74% of new deployments in 2024, compared with 16% in Europe and 9% in the Americas. 2024 had the second highest annual installation count of industrial robots in history – only 2% lower than the all-time-high two years ago.
The transition of many industries into the digital and automated age has been marked by a huge surge in demand. Slightly growing demand from the electronics industry and the general industry offset a contraction of demand from the automotive industry. In 2024, the electronics accounted for 24% of the installations, whereas the automotive industry had a 23% share. The metal and machinery industry retained its third place and increased its share to 16%, followed by the plastic and chemical products industry (5%) and the food and beverage industry (4%).
China is by far the world’s largest market in 2024, representing 54% of global deployments. The latest figures show that 295,000 industrial robots have been installed – the highest annual total on record. For the first time, Chinese manufacturers have sold more than foreign suppliers in their home country. Their domestic market share climbed to 57% last year, up from about 28% over the past decade. Japan, the United States, the Republic of Korea as well as Germany follow China in the top 5 markets and increase their market share to 80% in total.
Spain moved up one spot in terms of annual robot installations, to third place in Europe, following Italy and Germany, now ahead of France
Mixed picture in Europe
Robot installations in Europe were down 8% to 85,000 units in 2024, which nevertheless was the second largest number recorded in history. The 2023 result of 92,400 units was driven by the completion of delayed projects and the clearance of backlog that had grown due to earlier supply chain disruptions.
Robot demand in this region also benefited from the nearshoring trend. 80% of all European robot installations in 2024 took place in the European Union (67,800 units; -8%), and 65% took place in the Euro Area (54,900 units; -11%). In 2024, installation counts in Germany, the largest European market and the only European one in the global top five, were down 5% to 27,000 units, following a record level of 28,400 units in 2023.
Germany accounted for 5% of the global robot installations in 2024. Spain moved up one spot in terms of annual robot installations, to third place in Europe, following Italy and Germany, now ahead of France, and completed the global top 10 in 2024. Industrial robot installations were up 1% to 5,086 units, the second highest level reached in Spain so far (the all-time high remaining at 5,266 units in 2018).
While the automotive industry traditionally is the largest customer industry in Spain with a market share of 45%, the latest growth was driven by the general industries, in particular the food industry, accounting for 10% of the Spanish robot demand.
Outlook and trends
The macroeconomic conditions remain fragile. Geopolitical tensions, violent conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and trade disruptions are exerting their negative impact on the global economy. While inflationary pressure from energy prices has eased, wages, and thus labor costs, remain elevated in many countries, driven by tight labor markets and real wage adjustment to inflation. The robotics industry is not immune to global macroeconomic conditions but might be affected differently than other industries. Trade barriers like tariffs will accelerate the regionalization and diversification of supply chains, as economic agents seek ways to reduce the risk resulting from geopolitical tensions.
The overall global outlook remains positive, with robot installations expected to grow by 6% to 575,000 units in 2025. By 2028, the 700,000-unit mark will be surpassed
While the year 2025 began optimistically, the events in the second quarter make a reliable forecasting more than challenging. The overall global outlook remains positive, with robot installations expected to grow by 6% to 575,000 units. By 2028, the 700,000-unit mark will be surpassed. Regional developments show more variation: installations in North America are expected to remain broadly stable. Asia will continue to drive global growth, mainly driven by China. India is increasingly seen as an alternative or complement to China. For Europe, 2025 will remain a weak year without growth impetus due to the weakness of the European automotive sector as well as overregulation and high costs making the EU less attractive for investments.
The Spanish economy is better placed than other Western European economies like Germany, France, or Italy. Spanish GDP is expected to grow by 2.4% in 2025 and by 1.9% in 2026. The financial support from the European Recovery Fund (NextGenerationEU) is continuing. Several investment announcements by the automotive industry will drive robot demand until the end of the decade. Average growth in the upper single-digit range is expected.
Market development is supported by the five major trends driving the robotics industry in 2025 and beyond. The trend towards artificial intelligence in robotics is growing. By leveraging diverse AI technologies, robotics can perform a wide range of tasks more efficiently. In particular, impetus is currently expected from the application of generative AI. The term “physical AI” has created a lot of attention, in particular in connection to humanoid robots. This second trend is attracting a lot of public funding as well as private investments, driven by the vision that robots will become general-purpose tools that can load a dishwasher on their own and work on an assembly line elsewhere. Yet, industrial manufacturers are focusing on humanoids performing single-purpose tasks only and due to a series of yet unsolved challenges, commercial deployment is limited so far.
Sustainability is seen as a third trend, receiving increasing attention. Meeting global sustainability goals and compliance with corresponding regulations is making energy efficiency, repairability and recyclability an important customer requirement. In striving to reduce dependencies from the automotive industry, robot manufacturers are addressing new customer segments in manufacturing and beyond, in particular also by providing attractive solutions to the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). New business models like Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) are gaining importance in this context.
Fifth and last trend is robots addressing labor shortage, which becomes a burdening challenge in leading economies. By automating dirty, dull, dangerous or delicate tasks, human workers can focus on more interesting and higher-value tasks. Robots perform tedious tasks such as visual quality inspection, hazardous painting or heavy lifting. Technological innovations in robotics such as ease of use, collaborative robots or mobile manipulators help to fill gaps when and where needed.