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Why is the hot Industrial robot track so hot?

Recently, listed companies have successively released third-quarter earnings reports. Among them, the revenue of SIASUN Robotics, Topstar and Risong Technology increased year-on-year.

In terms of profits, SIASUN Robotics, Leisai Intelligence and Topstar increased by 17.62%, 5.74% and 6.42% respectively, but the profits of Risong Technology, Kelda, Xinbang Intelligent, Yijiahe and Eft respectively decreased by 25% year-on-year. , 26.29%, 33.85%, 91.72% and 6.56%.

On the one hand, it is the expanding domestic market, and on the other hand, it is a domestic robot company that continues to lose money. Why is the hot Industrial Robot track so hot and cold?

　　The industrial robot market continues to be hot and the scale ranks first in the world

In the past ten years, with the widespread application of Robots in the manufacturing industry, the scale of my country’s industrial Robot Industry has grown rapidly. According to relevant data, China’s industrial robot shipments will reach 256,300 units in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 49.5%. At the same time, my country’s industrial robot market will reach 44.57 billion yuan in 2021, ranking first in the world, and it is expected to exceed 50 billion in 2022. Yuan.

From the perspective of the competitive landscape, the epidemic has significantly accelerated domestic substitution. In 2021, the domestic market share of domestic industrial robot brands’ shipments will reach 32.8%, a year-on-year increase of 4.2%.

In the past ten years, my country’s high-end equipment manufacturing industry has also made rapid progress. In the past ten years, the added value of my country’s manufacturing industry has increased from 16.98 trillion yuan to 31.4 trillion yuan, accounting for nearly 30% of the global proportion, ranking first in the world. Among the 500 major industrial products, the output of more than 40% of my country’s products ranks first in the world, and the comprehensive strength of the manufacturing industry has been greatly improved.

In recent years, the investment and financing of the domestic robot industry has continued to be active, and a development pattern of industry and capital linkage has initially formed. According to statistics, in the first half of 2022, China’s robotics industry has disclosed a financing amount of more than 5 billion yuan.

Robotics and automation have become an integral part of modern manufacturing, with manufacturers integrating Robotic systems in production facilities to increase capacity, increase profit margins and reduce operating costs. The automotive industry is a key area of ​​industrial robot applications. At present, the sales growth rate of new energy vehicles exceeds expectations, and the market demand for robots will continue to maintain a positive trend.

　　Listed companies continue to lose money and replace hidden shortcomings in domestic production

Not only the third quarter report, but also in the performance report released in the first half of this year, it can be found that the performance of industrial robot companies generally suffers losses.

Some companies pointed out in their announcements that the poor performance was mainly affected by the epidemic, which led to tight supply chains, difficulty in ensuring delivery, and affected signing and production.

In the medium and long term, the market share that domestic industrial robots can increase is still relatively large, and there are obvious advantages in some sub-segments. The main advantages of domestic brands include:

Localization: domestic industrial robot suppliers have a complete marketing network and after-sales service system in China, and customers enjoy more efficient and convenient services;

Cost: Overseas suppliers still have high costs in terms of import tariffs and distributor distribution; in addition, after domestic brands gradually form scale effects, their bargaining power for upstream is enhanced, and their cost control capabilities are expected to be further improved;

Whole industry chain: Domestic industrial robot suppliers continue to improve the technical system through “independent research and development + extension mergers and acquisitions”, improve the self-made rate of core components, and gradually form the advantages of the whole industry chain.

In addition, my country’s industrial robots also face the following problems:

First, the core technology is hollowed out. Technical barriers are one of the main reasons that limit the development of industrial robots in my country. The core components account for 70% of the production cost of the industrial robot body, and are the main value heights of the industrial chain. In fact, the reason why Fanuc, ABB, Yaskawa, and KUKA have been able to control the industrial robot market all the time is that they have mastered the key profit points of the core components, so they have strong profitability.

With the improvement of domestic technology, some domestic brands can produce parts and components on a large scale, but they can only meet the needs of low-end and middle-end products.

Compared with the world’s advanced level, my country’s robot industry still has a certain gap. my country’s robot industry has insufficient technology accumulation, lack of original research, theoretical research, and forward design capabilities; the industrial foundation is weak, and the quality stability and reliability of key parts and components are still insufficient. Can not meet the needs of high-performance machine.

Second, high-end products are low-end. The so-called low-end phenomenon of industrial robots mainly refers to some robot body manufacturing enterprises, mainly assembling and OEM, and the core components need to be imported, which mainly refers to the machinery and control parts. Although this low-level assembly of industrial robots can meet certain localization needs, the market competitiveness of the products is limited.

More than 80% of enterprises only use industrial robots as low-end mechanical equipment. In order to meet customer requirements, robot companies also habitually enter “low-level competition” and gradually give up the motivation to develop high-precision products.

Even many domestic industrial robot body manufacturing enterprises focus on assembly and OEM processing, the industrial concentration is low, and the market is small and scattered, which is not optimistic.

In addition, the low-end production capacity of the industry is overcapacity, and some companies blindly expand production capacity, and the robot products produced can only be gathered in the low-end field to compete in price.

Finally, the dominant market is marginalized. In the leading markets such as automobile manufacturing and electronics, almost all industrial robots are foreign products, and almost 80% of high-performance products are foreign.

According to the “China Industrial Robot Industry Development White Paper 2020″, industrial robots used in the power electronics and automotive industries account for more than 50% of the market share. However, the market of automobile industrial robots is occupied by foreign brands, and the existing competition pattern is difficult to shake.

　　Epilogue

On the whole, domestic robotics companies have low technology and market concentration, and have relatively weak control over the industrial chain. Upstream parts and components have always been imported, and there is no bargaining advantage for upstream parts manufacturers. Most of the ontology and integration enterprises focus on assembly and OEM, which are at the low end of the industrial chain, with low industrial concentration and small overall scale.

For robot companies that already have certain capital, market and technical strength, building an industrial chain has become an important way for companies to expand their market and influence. At present, domestic leading robotics companies have also stepped up their expansion of their industrial territory through cooperation or mergers and acquisitions. Combined with the service advantages of local system integration, they already have certain competitiveness and are expected to truly realize import substitution for foreign brands in the future.