South Korean Media: China Leads the Humanoid Robot Race by a Wide Margin, with Sales 28 Times Higher than the U.S.!
On August 16, South Korea's daily newspaper Business Korea published an article stating that analysis shows the United States has significantly fallen behind China in the humanoid robot competition. The report indicates that China has taken a dominant position in the global humanoid robot market, thanks to a government-led national robotics strategy and a vast domestic market; in contrast, the U.S., lacking support at the governmental level, is gradually losing competitiveness in both production and market promotion.
The U.S.-based Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) highlighted in its recently released report titled "The U.S. Humanoid Robotics Industry Is Falling Behind"* that "although the U.S. invented robotics, it now lags behind Germany, Japan, and Switzerland in manufacturing," and added that "the gap with China is rapidly widening—especially in the field of humanoid robots."
The report reveals that by 2025, approximately 90% of global humanoid robot sales will be captured by Chinese companies, while this share in the U.S. remains below 5%.
YuShu Technology from China leads in sales, having sold 5,500 units. Following closely are Zhiyuan Robotics with 5,168 units sold, and Ubtech Robotics with 1,000 units sold. In comparison, American companies such as Figure AI, Agility Robotics, and Tesla have each sold only around 150 units.
According to statistics, in 2025, total humanoid robot sales from major Chinese companies are expected to reach 12,868 units, while those from leading U.S. companies will amount to just 450 units.
The ITIF believes that the absence of a national-level robotics industry strategy is the primary reason behind this gap.
Although the U.S. remains at the forefront of robotic technological innovation, it currently lacks a comprehensive national strategy to support the robotics industry. As a result, analysis shows that investments by enterprises in automation and robotics applications are proceeding slowly, and domestic market growth in the U.S. remains insufficient.
In fact, as of 2022, U.S. industrial robot exports accounted for only 5.4% of the global total. Meanwhile, China has designated robotics as a key national strategic industry, actively supporting corporate investment in automation, enhancing manufacturing competitiveness, and rapidly expanding its global market share.
The ITIF emphasizes that "economies of scale" are crucial in the humanoid robotics industry. As production volume increases, manufacturing costs decrease, and accumulated experience and data during large-scale production enhance product performance and quality. This "learning-by-doing" effect further strengthens the competitive advantage of market leaders, making it extremely difficult for latecomers to catch up.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1873663100531712/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.