The development of global industrial robots has gone through a process of evolution from customization to generalization, and has continuously achieved intelligence. From the initial technological development and industrial rise to the current stage of industrial upgrading, the application of industrial robots in general industrial scenarios has continued to deepen, and the level of intelligence has been improved.
According to MIR Rui Industrial data, in the first half of 2023, due to the contraction or relative slowdown in demand in the original main sales industries such as electronics, new energy vehicles, power batteries, and healthcare, as well as some robot channel merchants experiencing panic stocking at the end of 2022, the overall sales of industrial robots in China in the first half of 2023 were around 140000 units, a slight increase of about 1% year-on-year.
In recent years, service robots targeting the C-end have been known as the "air vents in the air". Under the impact of the epidemic, global service robots have nurtured new development opportunities, forming emerging growth points in the industry that are beginning to take shape, and driving rapid market growth.
Since the beginning of this year, the service robot market in China has grown rapidly, with demand in fields such as education and public services becoming the main driving force. According to data from the China Electronics Society, the domestic service robot market size in 2022 is approximately 44.776 billion yuan. With the further expansion of emerging scenarios, it is expected that the market size will exceed 50 billion yuan in 2023.
In the favorable domestic market and policy environment, as domestic brands continue to increase investment in talent and research and development, the domestic robot industry chain is gradually improving, and the localization rate is expected to gradually increase. Enterprises continuously enhance their core competitiveness through independent innovation and the implementation of a full industry chain layout strategy. It is expected that in the next 3-5 years, Chinese service robot component manufacturers will shift from being defensive to attacking, and are expected to comprehensively surpass foreign levels in terms of manufacturing level and cost.
Summary of the development status of the robot industry in the first half of 2023: Currently, China has become the world's largest automotive market and production base, and is also a major producer of electronic equipment, batteries, semiconductors, and microchips. The installation volume of industrial robots in China's electronic and electrical industries, as well as the automotive industry (including the new energy vehicle industry), has grown strongly. According to data from IFR and the China Electronics Society, it is expected that by 2024, the size of the Chinese industrial robot market will reach nearly 80 billion yuan, accounting for nearly 50% of the global market. It is expected that the compound annual growth rate of the Chinese industrial robot market size from 2021 to 2024 will be about 15.3%.
In addition, in recent years, foreign brands have been affected by unfavorable factors such as the international political situation and economic environment, which have affected supply side delivery, leading to a continuous strengthening of the domestic trend towards the localization of industrial robots. According to MIR and CRIA data, the localization rate in the first half of 2023 was about 44%, an increase of about 8% year-on-year. There is still significant room for improvement in the localization penetration rate of welding, assembly robots, and other applications in industries such as automobiles, electronics, semiconductors, and healthcare, accelerating domestic substitution.
In the first half of 2023, with the improvement of the domestic manufacturing production environment, steady recovery of industrial production, and the gradual introduction and implementation of relevant domestic policies, the downstream demand for industrial robots gradually repaired. The photovoltaic and automotive electronics industries have maintained a relatively high growth rate of over 10%, while the demand for 3C and automotive vehicles has slowed down, causing the prosperity of the downstream industry of industrial robots to decline in a short period of time. The accelerated expansion of heavy-duty industrial robot applications has moderately alleviated the downward trend of industry demand.