Buying a Chinese Industrial Robot in 2026: The Numbers, and Six Questions to Ask
In 2025, foreign robot makers grew almost twice as fast in China as Chinese ones. The flag on a robot tells you less than you would think. The factory, the parts and the people who will service it tell you more. Here are the verified numbers, and the questions that follow from them.
What the official numbers say
The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) published its World Robotics 2026 report on 24 September. For 2025 it reports:
- China is still the biggest market by far. It installed 354,000 industrial robots in 2025, up 20%, out of 603,000 installed worldwide.
- Chinese brands hold the majority at home, and their share slipped. Chinese suppliers installed about 195,000 robots in China, up 15%, which is 55% of the market. A year earlier their share was 57%, up from 47% in 2023. Foreign suppliers grew 27%.
- Europe is moving the other way. EU installations fell 11% to 60,500. Germany, the largest EU market, installed about 24,800, or 41% of the EU total.
Whose count? Chinese industry trackers count sales, not installations, and they report different shares. Gaogong said Chinese brands took 52.4% of the Chinese market in 2023, and MIR DATABANK put their share at 50.1% in the first half of 2024 (both as quoted by Yicai in November 2024). IFR counts installations: 47% in 2023 and 57% in 2024. When someone says Chinese brands have “overtaken” foreign ones, ask which tracker, and which year.
Four claims worth checking
“Chinese robots are taking over.”
The numbers say half of that. Chinese brands are the majority at home, but foreign makers grew faster in 2025. A contested market gives a buyer room to compare quotes. That is our read, not an IFR finding.
“The brand tells you where it was made.”
Not reliably. Foreign brands build in China: ABB’s head of robotics in China said in November 2024 that about 80% of what its Shanghai factory makes is sold in China and about 20% is exported. KUKA is owned by China’s Midea. And a Chinese-brand robot can contain foreign parts. None of this is a problem by itself. It is a reason to ask which factory builds your unit and what is inside it.
“Collaborative robots are eating the traditional market.”
IFR says otherwise. Cobots made up 66,000 installations in 2025, or 11% of the total, and grew 7%. For the first time since IFR began tracking them, that was slower than the market as a whole.
“Heavy payload is solved.”
Heavy robots are arriving. Science and Technology Daily reported in July that ESTUN’s ER1200-3300, a six-axis robot rated at 1,200 kg and launched in 2025, is the first Chinese-made robot of that rating in volume use. A catalog rating is not proof that it holds accuracy at full reach with your load. Test it.
Chinese makers are coming to Europe, and export growth is cooling
IFR’s European report says Chinese suppliers are developing new strategies to enter the EU market, and that the first of them have already set up European distribution hubs. It adds that trade restrictions in other large markets, such as the United States, may speed up the push into Europe. If you buy in Europe or Israel, expect more Chinese suppliers to approach you. That is our read, not an IFR finding.
China’s own customs numbers show the push abroad is real, and cooling. On 14 October, customs spokesperson Wang Jun said industrial robot exports in the first three quarters of 2026 were close to 10 billion yuan, up 16.9%. In the first quarter, customs data showed export value up 42%. In 2025, exports rose 48.7% and passed imports for the first time.
Chinese financial press is open about what takes time. A Securities Daily analysis, republished by China News Service in July, listed the limits: high-end chips and some core components are still imported, brand premiums are weak, and building an overseas after-sales network takes time and investment. That last point matters most to you as a buyer.
The rules that apply to a robot you import
Into the EU
Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 replaces the Machinery Directive and applies from 20 January 2027. Machinery placed on the EU market before that date falls under the Directive (2006/42/EC). For robots, the standard to know is ISO 10218. On 4 September the European Commission adopted Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/2015, in force from 7 September, which lists EN ISO 10218-1:2025 (industrial robots) and EN ISO 10218-2:2025 (robot applications and cells) among the harmonized standards under the Directive. The Commission says a list for the new Regulation is still being prepared.
What changed in the 2025 editions of the standard, according to the robotics industry association A3:
- Collaborative requirements moved in. The content of ISO/TS 15066 is now incorporated into Part 2, which speaks of “collaborative applications” rather than collaborative robots.
- Part 2 adds cybersecurity requirements that relate to robot safety.
- Functional safety requirements are stated more explicitly.
- Part 2 looks at the whole robot application, not only the arm.
In practice, the certificate for the arm does not cover your installation. Part 2 is about the application and the cell, which is usually the integrator’s job. Ask who will do the risk assessment for yours.
Into Israel
The U.S. Commercial Service reports that Israel’s standards policy has historically favored European standards, and that since 1 January 2025 Israel recognizes dozens of EU standards. Products on Israel’s high-risk list still need Israeli lab testing and model approval. For other products, importers can use test reports from ILAC-accredited foreign labs. The guides we checked do not say which category industrial robots fall into, so confirm it with your importer of record or a local safety consultant before you order.
Six questions to ask any robot supplier
Which factory builds my unit, and under which brand?
Ask for the legal name and address of the manufacturer named on the nameplate and the declaration of conformity, and a visit or a live video of the line that will build your order.
Which key parts are yours, and which do you buy, from whom?
Controller, servo drives, reducers, force sensors and motion chips: brand and country for each. Ask which of them are held as spares.
For context, the tracker GGII reports that Chinese RV reducers rose from about 42% of China’s market in 2022 to about 61% in 2024. We found this in a Sina Finance analysis and could not check the original, so treat it as a lead.
What does it do at my duty cycle?
Payload at full reach, repeatability, protection rating and mean time between failures, on your load and your cycle time. Ask for test results, not catalog maximums.
Which safety standard, and which edition?
EN ISO 10218-1 and -2:2025 for robots and cells. Ask which declaration of conformity applies, under the Directive now or the Regulation from 20 January 2027, and who is responsible for the cell.
Who services it in my country, and how fast?
A named service partner, where the spare parts are held, how many days to your door, whether remote support is offered, and how long software updates and licenses are included.
Who else runs this exact model outside China?
Two references abroad, and permission to call them.
Put the answers in the contract, and make sure the documents describe the same machine that ships. We cover that check in Issue #2, and the full supplier checklist is in our free buyer’s guide.
Our read
A year ago the question was whether a Chinese robot could do the job. The numbers say the market has moved on. Chinese brands are the majority at home, foreign makers are growing faster, and Chinese makers are now selling abroad. The open question is no longer capability alone. It is who stands behind the robot after it leaves the factory, in your country, in year three.
General information, not legal, engineering or safety advice. Standards and rules change, so confirm the requirements for your product with a qualified adviser or the relevant authority. Figures as of 14 October 2026.
Sources: International Federation of Robotics (IFR), World Robotics 2026, China press release, EU press release and President’s Report; IFR, World Robotics 2025, China press release (2023 and 2024 shares); Yicai Global, 21 November 2024 (ABB; Gaogong and MIR DATABANK shares); Science and Technology Daily, 25 July 2026 (ESTUN, in Chinese); Xinhua, 14 October 2026 (customs press conference, in Chinese); China News Service, 6 July 2026 (Securities Daily analysis, 2025 exports, in Chinese); Tencent News, 16 September 2026 (Q1 export value, in Chinese); 21st Century Business Herald, 14 October 2026; Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/2015; European Commission, Machinery and harmonised standards pages; A3, Updated ISO 10218 FAQ; U.S. Commercial Service, Israel Country Commercial Guide: Trade Standards; Sina Finance, 16 September 2026 (GGII reducer share, a lead only). The shares quoted for 2023 to 2025 come from two different counting methods and should not be compared with each other.
Free guide: Buying Industrial Robots from China
The official 2026 numbers, twelve questions to ask every supplier, and one EU date to plan around. You also get the weekly TADS China Intel issue.
Related reading
- Three Documents, One Product: The Pre-Shipment Match Check
- Chinese AGV and Robotic-Arm Manufacturers Heavy Industry Should Watch
- How to Vet a Chinese Heavy-Machinery Factory Before You Sign
- The IMR Compliance Checklist We Run Before Every Export
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