The German economy has reached a new peak in the use of industrial robots: the operational inventory rose to 259,636 units - an increase of 5% compared to the previous year. With 25,636 newly installed robots, the third best annual result was achieved in 2022. At minus 1%, the sales figures are only slightly behind the previous year's result. The all-time high from 2018 was 26,723 units.
“The operational inventory of industrial robots in Germany, with a share of 36%, is by far the highest in the European Union. Sales have increased by an average of five percent every year from 2017 to 2022,” explains Marina Bill, President of the International Federation of Robotics.
Automotive and metal processing industries
Traditionally, the automotive industry is the largest buyer and will have 6,676 units in 2022. Sales were therefore 27% lower than in the previous year. The result reflects supply chain problems: Due to a lack of electronic components, several automobile manufacturers had to temporarily stop production in 2022 - investments in automation were postponed accordingly.
The metal processing industry installed a new high of 4,187 units and achieved an increase of 19% in 2022. The chemical and plastics industries followed in third place, almost on the same level as the previous year with 2,049 units installed.
Production of robots
In Germany, production of industrial robots rose by 20% to 35,616 units in 2022 - a new record. This represented 6% of global installations. From 2017 to 2022, the production of industrial robots in Germany grew by an average of 6% per year.
For several years now, new providers have been entering the market that specifically help small and medium-sized companies to automate with robotics. For example, low-cost robots or robot solutions are used that are particularly easy to program and operate without prior knowledge.
Views
The German robotics industry got off to a strong start in 2023. The companies benefit from the improved situation in the supply chain. The industry association VDMA Robotics + Automation forecasts sales growth of a nominal 12% for the full year 2023. This outlook takes into account the high order backlog, which is keeping production at a high level this year, even if new orders are falling.
