AI / TECH

Where Does China's Manufacturing AI Automation Stand? The Gap Between Mass Robot Deployment and Early Humanoid Commercialization

According to the IFR, 54% of global new industrial robot installations (approximately 295,000 units) were concentrated in China in 2024, and production in the first half of 2025 increased by 35.6% year-on-year, sustaining the growth trend. Humanoids remain in the early commercialization stage; UBTech's contract with Airbus is a single-robot proof-of-concept, and its breakthrough past "1,000 units produced" actually translates to about 500 units delivered. UBTech itself stated that the work efficiency of the Walker S2 reaches at most half that of a human, and over 70% of Unitree's revenue comes from research and education rather than industrial applications. The IFR recalculated China's robot density from 470 down to 166, not because the number of robots decreased, but as a result of updated manufacturing employment statistics. KBR analyzes that South Korea must respond to China not through a robot "headcount" competition, but through the speed of ecosystem design encompassing data, standards, and supply chains.