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In recent years, the sales of Industrial Robots in my country have maintained rapid growth. Data show that in 2021, the sales volume will reach 256,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 49.5%. In the first half of this year, the sales of industrial robots reached 131,000 units, which continued to grow year-on-year under the influence of the epidemic.

In the context of intelligent manufacturing, the trend of replacing humans with machines is still accelerating, and the demand for industrial robots is also growing. The market environment is showing a trend of insufficiency and rising prices. The situation is difficult to change in the short term.

Lithium battery, photovoltaic industrial robot demand doubled

From an industry perspective, emerging industries such as new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, photovoltaics, medical care, and semiconductors have strong demand and become the main driving force for the growth of Industrial Robot sales. In the first half of the year, the production and sales of new energy vehicles in China increased by 1.2 times year-on-year. Policy-driven prosperity such as “carbon neutrality” continued to rise.

According to an interview with CCTV Finance, in the two industries of lithium battery and photovoltaic, orders for industrial robots may double compared to the past.

Driven by the accelerated development of new energy vehicles, power battery manufacturers have put forward plans to expand production significantly in the past two years. According to incomplete statistics, the production capacity planning of the entire lithium battery industry has approached 2TWh, and large-scale production has better stability and efficiency. High requirements have enabled industrial robots to be applied on a large scale. According to data, nearly 20,000 industrial robots will be deployed in the lithium battery industry in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 98%, far exceeding the average growth rate.

In the photovoltaic industry, there is also a high degree of reliance on Robotic automated production lines. As an emerging industry, the current cost of photovoltaic power generation can be reduced to the level of thermal power, but it is only initially profitable. The overall gross profit margin of the industry is low, and photovoltaic companies are under great operating pressure. , the sensitivity to cost is also higher, and automated production lines are urgently needed to help reduce costs and increase efficiency. In the first half of this year, the newly installed photovoltaic capacity in China was 30.88GW, an increase of 137% year-on-year, and the demand for industrial robots increased accordingly.

It is for this reason that, including Estun, Xinsong Robot, Xinshida, Eft, etc., major head robot body companies are actively deploying, launching special industrial robots for the lithium battery and photovoltaic industries, at the recent World Robot Conference. At the summit, Yaskawa, ABB and other companies also demonstrated robotic equipment used in the new energy industry.

The order is full, the supply is in short supply

At present, the order volume of industrial robots has increased greatly, but due to the shortage of overseas parts and components, the delivery cycle of many factories has been forced to extend, and the industrial robot market is facing a situation of short supply.

The person in charge of the robot business of some enterprises said that due to the shortage of raw materials and parts, the delivery cycle of their products has been affected. There may be twenty weeks of delivery.

It can also be seen in the previously released “Analysis of Financial Reports of the “Four Families” in the First Half of 2022!” that the order backlog of robots from the “Four Families” in the industrial Robot Industry is serious. According to the semi-annual reports of various companies, ABB’s order backlog reached a record 2.7 billion US dollars, an increase of 82% year-on-year; Fanuc robots’ bookings have reached 100 billion yen; KUKA robots’ order backlog reached 630 million euros, a year-on-year increase 77%.

In this case, the four major families are also actively expanding production. Fanuc said that it plans to increase the output of industrial robots from 11,000 units to 14,000 units per month. If it is still insufficient, it will continue to increase production; a few days ago, according to It is revealed that the robot factory invested by ABB in Shanghai is about to be put into operation. It is understood that the annual production capacity of this factory may reach 100,000 units, but the situation of order backlog and poor delivery in a short period of time will continue.

This is also an opportunity for domestic enterprises. Now some core components of domestic industrial robots have made breakthroughs and have the ability to replace domestic products. With the obvious advantages in delivery cycle, the localization rate of the industrial robot industry chain is expected to increase rapidly. Domestic enterprises are expected to share more industrial dividends.