German Robot Industry Faces Pressures from Chinese Competition

TapTechNews June 18, Reuters reports that the German Association of Mechanical Engineering (VDMA) said that competition from China is putting pressure on the German robot industry, and the industry has seen a decline in orders under the weak domestic economic situation.

Frank Konrad, head of the VDMA's robotics and automation division, said on Monday: The competition is very fierce, many Chinese suppliers have already gained a firm foothold in the domestic market and are actively entering the European market.

Germany, known for its strong engineering capabilities and technological innovation, is now facing an economic downturn. High energy costs, rising interest rates and insufficient investment due to cumbersome administrative approval procedures have all exacerbated this situation.

Konrad pointed out that overseas orders are the main driver of growth for the German robot and automation industry. In the first four months of this year, domestic orders in Germany decreased by 15% year-on-year, while overseas orders increased by 21% during the same period.

The important players in this industry include KUKA, an industrial robot manufacturer controlled by China, and the industrial automation business of Siemens AG.

According to the data obtained by Reuters, VDMA has halved the sales forecast for this industry for this year. They expect sales in 2024 to increase by only 2% to 16.5 billion euros (TapTechNews note: currently about 128.583 billion yuan), basically the same as last year.

In contrast, in 2023, thanks to the rebound of orders after the pandemic, the industry's sales increased by 13%. Konrad added that the sales performance so far this year still benefits from the strong order volume last year.