Global sales of industrial robots dropped by 5.8% in 2024
14 July 2025 
Source: Interact Analysis
The global market for industrial robots dropped by 5.8% last year, continuing a downturn that had started in 2023, according to a new report from Interact Analysis. There are signs of a slow recovery starting this year, although Europe will lag behind other regions in the coming years, after the market contracted by 8.1% in this region in 2024.
The report suggests that the global downturn was due to sluggish demand caused by a dip in manufacturing activity in 2024, coupled with falling prices. The manufacturing sector faced a challenging year as a result of high interest rates in Western markets and subdued demand in Asia. This meant that investment in production slowed down across all regions.
In addition, fierce competition in the industrial robots sector has squeezed margins for robot manufacturers. Many emerging brands have sacrificed profitability for market share.
The Asia-Pacific region dominates the global industrial robots market, with a higher concentration of vendors and large order volumes leading to lower robot prices than in other regions. Interact predicts that the APAC region will continue to grow steadily as demand for robots increases.
The long-term view for the EMEA region is not as positive, with the market expected to grow at a slower CAGR that the other two major regions over the coming five years. Nevertheless, EMEA will continue to be the second-largest market for industrial robots.
The Americas will remain in third place, buoyed by US reshoring initiatives and the growing potential of Latin America.
Demand for robots from the automotive sector struggled during 2024, as did and demand in general manufacturing industries such electronics, metals and plastics & rubber.
Demand in consumer-related industries, such as food & beverage and life sciences, showed more resilience.
“In 2024, the industrial robot market continued its decline from the 2023 slump,” comments Interact Analysis research analyst, Samantha Mou. “However, we anticipate a gradual recovery of the robotics market across all three major regions in 2025, with stronger growth expected in 2026.
“In the Americas and Asia, market sentiment is showing signs of improvement, and there are encouraging indications that the macroeconomy may slowly emerge from the recession,” she adds. “However, in Europe, recovery signs remain weak and our growth forecast for the EMEA region remains the lowest.
“Despite this, we expect the broader manufacturing sector in Europe to benefit from the global economic cycle.”
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