UK industrial robot installations plummeted by 35% in 2024
26 September 2025 
Source: World Robotics 2025
The number of industrial robots installed in the UK last year plunged by 35%, from 3,800 in 2023 to 2,500. The figures come from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), which points out that the 2023 figure was a one-off peak (51% higher than in 2022), driven by the “super-deduction” tax credit scheme, which ended after the first quarter of 2023. The UK now ranks rank 19th globally in terms of robot installations.
Many industrial countries recorded declines in the number of robots they bought last year. Across Europe there was an average 5% drop, with six of the EU’s top ten vehicle-producing countries recording double-digit declines. The largest, Germany, experienced a 25% fall in robot sales to the automotive sector, while the Czech Republic, the third-largest car-maker, recorded a 28% fall. France, in fourth, had a 41% decrease, while in Slovakia (fifth) orders plunged by 75%. Italy (sixth) fell by 11%, while Romania (seventh) halved its orders.
The IFR stats (published in its World Robotics Report 2025) show that 542,000 industrial robots were installed worldwide in 2024 – more than double the number ten years ago. Annual installations exceeded 500,000 for the fourth year running, buoyed up largely by sales in China.
According to IFR president, Takayuki Ito, the number of robots installed globally in 2024 was the second-highest ever and was only 2% lower than the all-time-high two years ago. “The transition of many industries into the digital and automated age has been marked by a huge surge in demand,” he reports “The total number of industrial robots in operational use worldwide was 4,664,000 units in 2024 – an increase of 9% compared to the previous year.”
China was by far the world’s largest market in 2024, accounting for 54% of global deployments. It installed around 295,000 industrial robots last year – the highest annual total on record. For the first time, Chinese robot-makers sold more machines in their home country than foreign suppliers, taking a 57% share of the market – up from about 28% a decade ago. China’s operational robot stock now exceeds two million – the largest fleet of any country.
There is no sign of demand in China easing, and the market is predicted to expand by around 10% every year until 2028.
Japan maintained its position as the second-largest market for industrial robots in 2024, installing 44,500 new machines – a 4% decrease. The country’s operational stock rose by 3%, with 450,500 robots now in use. Demand for robots is expected to grow by a low single-digit amount in 2025. It will then expand to a medium single-digit rate over the next few years.
The Republic of Korea installed 30,600 robots in 2024 – down 3%. The country was the world’s fourth-largest robot market in terms of annual installations in 2024, behind the US, Japan and China.
A record 9,100 new robots were installed in India during 2024 – an increase of 7%. The automotive industry was the strongest driver, accounting for 45% of the market. India is now the world’s sixth-largest robot user, just behind Germany.
In Europe, industrial robot installations across all sectors dropped by 8% to 85,000 in 2024 – still the second-highest number in history. Most (80%) European robot installations were in the EU. Demand benefited from the trend to nearshoring.
Germany remains Europe’s largest robot market, and the world’s fifth-largest. But installations fell by 5% to 26,982 in 2024. This represents 32% of the European market. The number of installations in Italy, Europe’s second-largest robot user, fell by 16% to 8,783. Spain is now in third place (5,100), with a strong demand from the automotive industry. France (4,900) slipped to fourth place, with the number of robots it purchased dropping by 24%.
Robot installations in the Americas exceeded 50,000 for the fourth year in a row – 50,100 were installed in 2024, 10% below the 2023 figure. The US accounted for 68% of installations in the Americas in 2024. Its robot installations dropped by 9% to 34,200. The US imports most of its robots from Japan and Europe, however it does have many domestic robotic systems integrators.
Cobots (collaborative robots) are slowly making inroads into the industrial robot market, with 64,542 being sold last year – representing 11.9% of all industrial robot sales. In 2017, just 11,107 cobots were sold, representing just 2.8% of the robot market.
Despite the substantial publicity that humanoid robots have received in recent years, the IFR reports that there have been few commercial deployments yet, and that true multipurpose humanoids are still “far off”.
The IFR reports that there is no indication that the long-term growth trend in the robotics sector will come to an end any time soon. While regional trends vary substantially, the aggregate global trajectory remains positive. Globally, robot installations are expected to grow by 6% to 575,000 in 2025. By 2028, the 700,000-mark will be passed.
