China's Industrial Robot Output Surges 29% in Nine Months

BEIJING -- China produced 794,781 industrial robots in the first nine months of 2026, an increase of 29.1% from a year earlier, according to figures released Oct. 19 by the National Bureau of Statistics.

The total already exceeds the 773,074 industrial robots reported for all of 2025, putting production 2.8% above last year's full-year level with three months remaining.

September production reached 96,752 industrial robots, up 18.9% from a year earlier. The growth rate slowed from 34.6% in August, when manufacturers produced 96,174 units.

The figures cover production by industrial enterprises above China's designated reporting threshold. They measure robots manufactured, not units sold, installed or placed into operation.

Industrial robots are used for tasks such as welding, assembly, material handling and machine tending. The statistics do not identify the manufacturers responsible for the increase or distinguish between robots intended for domestic customers and export markets.

The September results also showed a sharp difference between industrial and service robot production.

China manufactured 1,658,178 service robots during September, down 17.8% from the same month last year. For the first nine months, service robot production reached 15,588,372 units, up 7.9%.

That compares with 12.1% growth for the January-August period. Service robots cover a broader range of machines than industrial robots, and the statistics do not establish how much of the output consists of humanoids or other specific designs.

Robot production outpaces broader manufacturing

The increase in industrial robot output came as China's overall industrial production continued growing at a more moderate pace.

Value added by major industrial enterprises rose 5.5% year over year in September, accelerating from 5.2% in August. Manufacturing output increased 6%, while production in the specialized equipment manufacturing sector rose 12.1%.

Across the first nine months, China's industrial output grew 5.3%, according to the statistics bureau.

The agency also reported particularly strong production growth in other advanced manufacturing categories. Output of 3D printing equipment increased 62.5% in the first three quarters, while lithium-ion battery production rose 39.5%.

The industrial robot figures provide a measure of manufacturing activity but do not establish whether domestic robot installations or manufacturers' profitability increased at the same rate.

The bureau's monthly production data can also be affected by changes in the group of enterprises covered by its surveys. Its reported cumulative totals should therefore not be treated as a simple sum of previously published monthly figures.