According to GGII data, the sales of industrial robots in China are expected to reach 303000 units in 2022, a year-on-year increase of approximately 15.96%, with global sales accounting for over 50%. China has become the world's largest consumer of industrial robots for nine consecutive years and remains the world's largest industrial robot market.
From the perspective of various links in the industrial chain:
Components: In the first half of the year, due to various factors such as the rise in chip and raw material prices, labor costs, and logistics costs, the cost of robot components both domestically and internationally began to rise. In 2022, due to factors such as shortage and extended delivery cycles, foreign manufacturers have further accelerated the localization process of domestic component manufacturers and are in a continuous expansion stage. Under the trend of rising prices, they have an advantage in terms of comprehensive high cost-effectiveness.
Body: From the overall market perspective, the sales of industrial robots in China showed a trend of low in the first half of 2022 and then flat. The year-on-year growth rate of the industrial robot market in the first half of the year was less than 5%, and the year-on-year growth rate in the second half of the year was more than 20%.
At the product level, the prosperity of collaborative robots is relatively high, with domestic manufacturers leading the growth rate, and the localization rate continues to increase; The medium to large load six axis robots benefit from the demand driven by the new energy and new energy vehicle industries, with significant growth and a continuous increase in entrants; Due to the decline of the 3C industry, the overall growth rate of the small six axis robot and SCARA has significantly declined; Parallel robots have been affected by the tightening demand in major industries such as food and daily chemicals, and their growth rate has not met expectations.
At the corporate level, compared to domestic and foreign enterprises, foreign-funded enterprises have been affected by multiple factors such as the epidemic, logistics, and chip shortages, resulting in prolonged delivery times. At the same time, product prices have generally increased. Domestic enterprises have benefited from the advantages of localized supply chains, further widening the gap between delivery times and prices. From the comparison of size and volume, the Matthew effect is continuously intensifying. The growth momentum of leading manufacturers such as Aston and Huichuan is not decreasing, and the scale advantage is further expanding. The survival pressure of many small and medium-sized enterprises has doubled, facing pressure and challenges from various aspects such as orders, funds, and supply chains.
At the application level, new energy is undoubtedly the biggest growth force, with a significant decline in areas such as 3C, metal machinery, and home appliances. The automotive and parts industries have shown varying degrees of growth, while other sub sectors such as semiconductors and logistics warehousing have shown some growth.
The increase in demand for industrial robots in 2022 mainly comes from the fields of new energy vehicles, photovoltaics, lithium-ion batteries, and semiconductors.
According to data disclosed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, from January to November 2022, China's industrial robot production exceeded 400000 units, firmly ranking as the world's largest industrial robot market. In 2022, domestic industrial robot manufacturers have significantly increased in size, especially leading domestic manufacturers; Benefiting from the continuation of the high momentum of the new energy industry, the growth rate of medium and large load robots is leading, and domestic manufacturers are starting to increase their layout efforts.
The macro environment uncertainty still exists in the epidemic era after 2022. The downstream sub industries will continue to be structurally differentiated, and the localization rate of the robot industry will steadily increase. At the same time, more and more domestic industrial robot manufacturers are expected to sell more than 10000 sets annually, and the market concentration ratio is increasing in a differentiated way. In 2023, the Chinese industrial robot market is expected to form a new pattern. Domestic manufacturers will further narrow the gap with foreign manufacturers in terms of volume, and there is huge room for domestic substitution in more downstream segmented application scenarios. GGII remains rational and optimistic about the development prospects of the Chinese industrial robot market in the coming years.